Fairy Tail Duel: In the Shadows
by Show Expert 1
Summary: Natsu and his guild may have been declared number one, but their adventure isn't over quite yet. A new darkness is coming and Natsu seems to be at the center of it. Natsu and his friends need to stop this darkness, and it will take all the power of the dragons, or their world could be lost
1. New Dark Vampire

Chillin' out with the crew in the school yard,  
Findin' trouble, never lookin' too hard.  
Well back at class, they never taught us this,  
Some things you gotta learn, hit or miss.

Tough times, hard climbs,  
We'll take 'em on together.  
Right now, let's go!

Fairy Tail Duel

Game on, get your game on,  
Come on ya better play your cards right.  
Game on, get your game on,  
We'll make the grade and win this fight.  
We'll make the grade somehow.  
Yeah!

Fairy Tail Duel

Game on, get your game on,  
Come on ya better play your cards right.  
Come on and get your game on!

Darkness is all around us and it takes many forms. One example is that a man in the shadows of an abandon lab stepped inside. He turned on the computer and some power came on. He worked on the computer and images of Natsu Dragneel and some of his friends came up.

"So these are the seven dragons. Time to see what they're really all about. Valcor, where are you?"

"Right here." A man came out of the shadows and stepped into the light. He had short blonde hair and wore a black blazer with black pants and wore a crimson shirt. Through the ladies' point of view, he's a real looker.

"Are you still looking for the perfect bride?"

"Of course." Valcor said.

"I think I found you a series of options." He showed images of some of the girls from Fairy Tail.

"Aw! Yes, they all look very nice." Valcor said.

"I just have one thing you have to do if you want that bride. You have to duel this man, make him want to duel you." He showed an image of Natsu on the screen.

"It shall be done. I'll gladly take a "bite" out of him." Valcor said as he bared fangs.

…

Magnolia

It's been a few weeks since Fairy Tail has been declared the number one dueling guild in all of Fiore. After that, Sabertooth has been working on taking a turn for the better and no longer have Jiemma involved with them.

"Feeling good!" Natsu said as he stuffed his face.

"Slow down. You're going to choke." Lucy said.

"Unless someone wants to duel me, I need to fuel up." Natsu said. "Dueling takes a lot of energy and I always give it my all when I duel."

"Natsu has the right idea." Erza said.

"That's a scary thought." Gray said.

"We are the number one dueling guild now." Erza said. "That means we all have better chances of going pro and much more. That also means we'll have a lot of promising duels ahead of us. We need to keep up our strength."

"Maybe, but that doesn't mean we have to eat like there's no tomorrow." Wendy said. "I'm a little worried for Natsu's health."

"You don't have to. I'm at my best." Natsu said as he kept eating.

"Natsu!" Natsu thought heard someone say his name. He looked around, but he didn't see a sign of anyone who wanted his attention.

"What's wrong?" Lucy asked.

"I thought I heard something. Must be hearing things." Natsu said and went back to eating, but something he couldn't ignore was coming.

…

The Lab

Down in the abandon lab, the mystery man was doing some research. That research was on the seven that were chosen by the dragons to fight off the darkness.

"So these are the seven that were chosen. I can't wait to test them to their limits." As he was doing his research, a light shined behind him and he could already tell who it was. "Is there a problem, my lord?"

"I'm just checking on your progress. You're about to make the first move, right?"

"Of course. I've already sent out my first subordinate to face the one who holds the fire dragon."

"I see. Natsu, I know how much you love to duel. I hope you enjoy yourself." Something sinister is going on and Natsu and his friends will be at the center of it….again.

…

Magnolia

Night soon came and it was a foggy night. Lucy was walking past the lake after she decided to have a night out with Cana and Juvia.

"Thanks for inviting us out, Cana." Lucy said.

"Yes. I did have a great time. It would have been even better if my darling could have joined us." Juvia said.

"Juvia, it's a night out for just us girls. That meant no guys." Lucy said.

"You're just upset that you didn't get the chance to steal him away from me!" Juvia said.

"Come on, Juvia. You know Lucy wouldn't do that, especially when she has something going on with Natsu." Cana said with Lucy blushing. "Anyway, it's getting dark and foggy. We should be heading on home."

"Hey, look ahead. Isn't that Levy?" Juvia said. All of them looked ahead and saw Levy resting against a tree with a book and a flashlight. "Levy!" Levy looked up from her book and saw the three of them.

"Hi, girls." Levy said, but she looked around and saw how dark it was. "Wow… I didn't realize how dark it got. I lost track of time."

"What are you doing out here?" Lucy asked.

"I come here to do a little reading, but I lost track of time." Levy said.

"Must have been into that book. What are you reading?" Lucy said. Levy was a little embarrassed to say, but Cana took a look at it.

"You're reading one of those vampire romance stories?! I didn't think you were into that sort of thing." Cana said.

"Okay. So I'm like some other girls with this stuff." Levy said.

"Vampires… I bet Gray would be heavenly as a vampire." Juvia said as she was daydreaming.

"I'm not so sure about that. As an inspiring writer myself, I think I would my readers to focus more on just hot characters." Lucy said. "Vampires? Please." Lucy looked out to the lake, but she saw something strange out on the lake. "What is that?" All of them looked out and saw someone was standing on the water.

"Good evening, ladies." All of them saw Valcor standing out on the water. The girls seemed a little mesmerized by seeing him. Valcor walked across the water to meet them. When Valcor met them, he took a good look at them until his eyes landed on Lucy. "Aren't you a thing of true beauty?"

"Who are you?" Lucy asked.

"I'm glad you asked." Valcor said as he showed his fangs in a smile.

…

Fairy Tail

"Come on! I need some dueling action!" Natsu said as he felt like he needs to get in one duel before the day is over.

"Natsu, it's getting late." Gray said.

"Indeed. Perhaps we should head on home." Erza said.

"They're right, Natsu." Makarov. "Conserve your strength. You always have tomorrow and the days that come after that. There's no reason to rush into things."

"Besides, everyone else has just about headed home." Gray said. "Who could there be for you to duel?"

"Help!" Levy, Juvia, and Cana all came running in and they all looked freaked.

"What's the matter?" Wendy asked.

"We saw a…. a…." Juvia wasn't sure to say this.

"Saw what?" Erza said.

"A vampire!" Levy said. "He came out through the fog and came right at us. He had fangs and there's actually some sort of mansion on the lake now."

"A vampire? Yeah right." Gray said as he didn't really believe it.

"I would never lie to you, Gray." Juvia said. "It was all for real. I wouldn't believe it myself, but we saw it with our own eyes."

"Come on. Vampires don't exist." Gray said.

"Let's be considerate. Stranger things have happened to us before." Makarov said.

"Believe this. That creep, whoever he is, just kidnapped Lucy." Cana said.

"He did what?! You should have lead with that!" Natsu said and ran right out to save Lucy with Gray, Erza, and Wendy following him.

…..

The Lake

Natsu ran all the way to the lake to find Valcor and rescue Lucy. Natsu made it to the lake and saw that the girls were telling the truth. There's some sort of fancy building in the middle of the lake with a bridge for him.

"Natsu, wait!" Erza called out as she and the others were managed to catch him.

"We can't wait." Natsu said. "Lucy could be in trouble. Looks like the girls were telling the truth. We need to get in there and save her."

"I don't believe the whole vampire thing, but Natsu's right for once." Gray said.

"I know, but we can just charge in without a plan." Erza said.

"Fine. Come up with one while I rescue Lucy." Natsu said as he didn't wait around another minute and ran inside.

"Natsu, wait for us!" Wendy called as they went in with him across the bridge.

…

Lucy

Lucy blacked out earlier, but she was beginning to wake up. Lucy opened her eyes and saw she was in some sort of fancy room with moonlight coming through.

"Where am I?" Lucy said as she tried to move, but red beams blocked her path. She looked around and noticed she was in a coffin. "I think I'm too young to be in something like this!"

"Lucy!" Lucy looked to the entrance and saw her friends arrived to save her.

"Hey! I'm in here!" Lucy called.

"What are you doing in that strange bed? Now's not the time for a nap." Natsu said.

"It's called a coffin and I'm not napping!" Lucy shouted.

"Good evening." All of them looked up and saw Valcor up some stairs.

"So you're this vampire we were told about?" Natsu said.

"There's no such thing as vampires." Gray said.

"Is there?" Valcor said. In a flash of red light, he changed into a bat. The bat flew around and landed between them and Lucy. "What do you call that?" None of them could believe it.

"I don't care what you are. Let Lucy go." Natsu demanded.

"Your friend is a thing of beauty. She would make a lovely vampire bride." Valcor said.

"Bride?! I'm too young for marriage!" Lucy said.

"However, I know who you are. You bare the mark of the dragon on your arm and you hold the fire dragon." Valcor said and Natsu was surprised that he knew that. "If you wish to save your friend, you'll have to duel me for her. You win, she goes free. I win and she's mine."

"Bring it. I never turn away from a duel." Natsu said and activated his duel disk. Valcor brought out his with it being bat-designed.

"Let's duel!" Both of them said and had 4000LP.

"Allow me to start." Valcor said as he drew a card. "I activate the continuous spell Vampire Life Drain. Now at the start of each of your turns, you lose 200LP and I gain them. I now summon Vampire Man-Bat." He summoned out a human bat and it had 1500atk points. "I'm also going to activate my field spell. Transylvanian Grounds." The entire area changed to a dark field with a castle behind Valcor with a red/black sky.

"This is starting to get creepy." Lucy said.

"What is this?" Natsu said.

"You'll find out soon enough. I place one card face down and end my turn." Valcor said.

"My turn!" Natsu said.

"Don't forget my spell. Now you're drained of some power." Valcor said. Natsu glowed red as his life points dropped to 3800 and Valcor's rose to 4200, but Natsu felt it.

"Whoa. I that felt like some of my energy was actually drained, but I don't care about that right now." Natsu said. "I summon out my Dragon Wingman!" Natsu summoned out a humanoid red dragon and it had 1900atk points. "Swat that bat! Attack!" His dragon flew right at the bat to crush it.

"I play Bat Roost!" Valcor said. "This trap prevents me from taking any damage." Natsu's dragon destroyed the bat, but Valcor took no damage. What no one noticed was a red light on a tower of the castle. "I also gain a bat token for every open monster space I have." Five bats appeared, but none of them had any attack points.

"That won't stop me." Natsu said as he placed a face-down.

"My turn." Valcor said. "I sacrifice one of my tokens to summon out Supersonic Bat." One bat vanished and a much larger one flew out with 1800atk points. "Now attack his Dragon Wingman!"

"He's attacking? Why? His monster is weaker." Erza said. His bat unleashed a sonic attack, but the dragon deflected it and destroyed the bat with Valcor's life points dropping to 4100, but there was another red light. "Now I activate Supersonic Bat's ability. When it is destroyed, it comes back when I tribute a monster." One of his bat tokens vanished and his bat returned. "Now attack again!"

"Why does he keep attacking when his monster is weaker?" Gray said. His bat attacked again and it was the same result as before with Valcor's life points dropping to 4000.

"Now I release another token." Valcor said. One bat vanished and the other returned. For whatever reason, he kept attacking. More red lights appeared and his life points dropped to 3800. His bat returned again, but he was all out of tokens.

"Ha! No more tokens. You're not that smart." Natsu said as he laughed.

"Natsu, hold on. Take a look at that." Erza said. "There are five red lights on that tower of that castle. What's that all about?"

"So you noticed." Valcor said. "Those lights are crimson counters. Each time a vampire or bat monster is destroyed, one counter is placed on my field spell. You see, deep inside that castle, a great and all-powerful being sleeps inside. When ten counters have been placed on it, the great being inside will awaken."

"So that's what he was going for. He was just building counters and he's already at five." Gray said.

"That's right. Soon, the being inside will awaken and your demise will soon arrive!" Valor said. Natsu has to stop that monster from being released, but what he didn't know was that all of this was being pulled by someone else in the shadows.

To Be Continued….


	2. Vampire Strength Test

A strange new threat has arrived for Natsu and the others. An actual vampire named Valcor kidnapped Lucy to make her his bride. Natsu tends to save her, but only if he can win this duel.

"What shall you do now?" Valcor asked. He had Supersonic Bat at 1800atk points, 3800LP, Vampire Life Drain, and Transylvanian Grounds with five counters on it. Natsu had a face-down with Dragon Wingman having 1900atk points and 3800LP.

"Come on, Natsu. You have to win." Wendy said.

"Yeah, but he's got to do it before that castle gains all ten counters and it's already at five." Gray said. "If he doesn't, something is going to come out of there."

"Natsu will find a way." Erza said.

"It's my turn now." Natsu said and drew his next card.

"Yes and now Vampire Life Drain activates. You lose 200LP and they become mine." Valcor said as Natsu could feel his power being drained as his life points dropped to 3600 and Valcor's rose to 4000.

"That still isn't going to stop me." Natsu said. "I summon my Sala-Flame to the field." A lizard made out of fire came out with 1400atk points. "Now it's time to have Dragon Wingman attack your bat! I'll take you out before you can use that field spell." Dragon Wingman flew at the bat and destroyed it with a powerful dive and Valcor's life points dropped to 3900.

"Thank you. That gives my field spell another counter." Valcro said.

"Maybe, but you're now wide open for a direct attack!" Natsu said. "Sala-Flame, attack him directly!" Sala-Flame shot out a flame tongue and whipped Valcro with it and his life points dropped to 2500. "I'll end my turn there."

"Natsu may have given him another counter, but at least he dealt some damage." Erza said.

"Come on, Natsu. I'm starting to get really nervous in here." Lucy said.

"It's my turn now." Valcro said. "I'll start by summoning Vampire Mistress." A vampire girl dressed in black came on the field and had 1300atk points. "I activate her special ability which allows me to take a spell card from my deck and add it to my hand." He drew the card and reached for another one. "I activate Vampire Amulet and equip it on my Vampire Mistress." A red jewel amulet appeared around her neck with her having 1800atk points. "Thanks to this spell card, she gains an additional 500atk points and all your monsters will be force to attack her."

"So what? Dragon Wingman is still stronger." Natsu said.

"I'm not finished yet. I activate the spell my mistress gave me." Valcor said. "I activate Vampire Mesmerize. This spell allows all your monsters to be in attack mode until my next turn. What's more is that they all have vampire in their name." Natsu looked at his monsters and saw they had vampire features. "Now, Vampire Mistress, attack Vampire Dragon Wingman." His mistress went on the attack, but Natsu's monster deflected the attack and destroyed her with Valcor's life points dropping to 3800, but got another counter.

"No. Now he only needs three more." Gray said.

"True and now that Natsu's monsters have vampire in their name, if they get destroyed, that will count too." Erza said.

"But now he can't attack. That was pointless." Natsu said.

"I think not. Vampire Amulet has one other ability. When it's destroyed, you lose 500LP and I gain them." Natsu felt more of his energy being drained as his life points dropped to 2000 while Valcor's went to 4300. "What's more is that the monster it was equipped to returns to my hand and when Vampire Mistress returns from the grave to my hand, she's summoned to the field." His vampire rose back with its original attack points.

"What gives? Why do I keep feeling more of my energy being drained?" Natsu said.

"Foolish mortal. You have no idea the powers you're up against." Valcor said. "I don't see why he seems so interested in you?"

"What? What are you talking about?" Natsu said.

"There's more to this duel than what I have said." Valcor said. "You see, I knew taking your little friend would get your attention. Another reason I'm dueling you is to test your strength for my superior."

"That means he's following orders. He set this whole thing up so that Natsu would duel him!" Erza said.

"Who told you to do this?" Natsu said.

"I don't have to tell you that. I place one face-down to end my turn." Valcor said.

"I don't know what's going on, but I'm still winning." Natsu said and drew his next card.

"Before you make another move, my spell activates." Valcor said. More of Natsu's power was drained with him having 1800LP and Valcor having 4500. "I also activate my trap: Gathering of the Vampires! This trap destroys all monsters that have vampire in their name. Don't forget that my spell transformed your own monsters into vampires as well." All three monsters burst into flames and all of them were destroyed.

"Oh no! That's three!" Wendy said as the final three counters were placed on Valcor's field spell.

"This is bad. He's got ten now." Gray said.

"If you think that scares me, you're wrong." Natsu said. "I'll just have to deal as much damage as I can. I play my own trap: Fire Dragon Arrival. By not normal summoning this turn, I can summon out a Fire Dragon. I summon Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" His fighter with flaming fists came out and had 1600atk points. "My trap also deals 800 points of damage for every Fire Dragon I've got." Flames shot out from Natsu's hard and blasted Valcor with his life points dropping to 3700. "Without any monsters, you're left wide open for a direct attack!" His fighter went at Valcor and gave him a powerful punch and his life points dropped to 2100.

"Is that it? That was your last chance to take me out." Valcor said.

"I end my turn with one card facedown." Natsu said. "Since we've reached your turn, your spell is destroyed."

"Then, the time has come!" Valcor said as he took his turn and his spell was destroyed. "Now that I have ten counters, I release all of them to awaken the one that rests inside!" All the lights shined and fired a red pillar of light. "I summon Draculos the Vampire Monarch!" A creature made out of red energy and vampire features formed from the light and towered over them with 2800atk points.

"That thing is majorly creepy!" Lucy said as all of them were astonished by it.

"Draculos, attack and destroy! **Vampire Nightmare**!" Valcor said. Draculos unleashed a powerful beam from its mouth and blasted Natsu's field with his Iron Fist destroyed and he was knocked off his feet with his life points dropping to 600. "Now Draculos' special ability activates. When he destroys a monster, it revives on my field as a vampire!"

"Say what?!" Natsu said. Draculos held out his claw and Iron Fist came out of the ground looking like a vampire.

"One more thing. If you wish to attack Draculos, you have to destroy your own monster first." Valcor said.

"So Natsu has to destroy Iron Fist before Draculos?" Wendy said.

"Looks like it." Gray said.

"Come on, Natsu. Win this." Lucy said.

"Be patience, my future bride." Valcor said.

"I'm not your bride!" Lucy shouted, but Valcor ignored her.

"Make your final move. Not that there's anything you can do to win now." Valcor said.

"It's not over yet." Natsu said as he refuse to quit and got back up. "It's my turn." He drew his card and saw it was a spell. 'Perfect.' He thought.

"Now Vampire Life Drain works one last time." Valcor said. More of Natsu's life points were drained and was down to a mere 400 while Valcor has 2300. That didn't stop Natsu.

"Okay. I drew what I need. Now I just need to get the right card." Natsu said. "It's all or nothing. I activate my trap. Faith in the Enemy!"

"What's that?" Valcor said.

"Here's how it works. I select one card I need from my deck and two random ones come with it." Natsu said as three cards came to him. "The one I need is Atlas Flame Dragon. Now here comes the hard part. You have to select one of these three cards without knowing what they are. Whichever card you pick, I have to play it and the other two go to the graveyard."

"So you're placing your faith in my hands? That's a desperate attempt." Valcor said.

"Well, you may or may not have much to worry about. Just take your pick." Natsu said. Tension was high for the enemy will decide Natsu's fate.

"I pick the one in the middle!" Valcor said with confidence in his choice.

"Thank you." Natsu said as it showed it was Atlas Flame Dragon.

"No!" Valcor said and Atlas Flame Dragon rose on the field with it having 2600atk points. "Even if you attack, I'll still have life points."

"Not quite!" Natsu said. "Sorry old friend. Atlas Flame Dragon, attack Iron Fist! **Burning Devastation**!" Atlas Flame Dragon formed a giant fireball and launched it. It exploded around Iron Fist and destroyed it. "There's more. When Atlas Flame Dragon destroys a monster, it deals an additional 1000 points of damage!"

"What?!" Valcor said as his life points dropped to 300.

"This duel is over! I activate Burst Fist!" Natsu said. "Now all the battle damage you took is coming back and is doubled!" Flaming fists were shot and blasted Valcor with all his life points being taken out.

"He won!" Wendy cheered as the field cleared away. When the duel ended, Lucy was free from her coffin.

"Natsu!" Lucy called as she ran right into his arms and felt safer.

"Nice work. Now let's get some answers." Erza said as they all turned to Valcor. "Answer us. Who sent you to test Natsu?"

"Fools." Valcor said as he laughed. "You don't know what you're up against. Darkness is coming and you have no idea how powerful it can be." Before they could question more about it, Valcor turned to dust and they felt the ground shaking.

"I think we better get out of here!" Gray said and they all started running. They made it across the bridge just as the whole place turned to nothing, but dust.

"That was bizarre. Where did he even come from?" Lucy said.

"I'm not sure." Erza said.

"I thought we were done with all this darkness. Why is it coming back?" Wendy said.

"I don't know, but if it wants a fight, it got one." Natsu said for he didn't care who this new enemy is.

…..

The Lab

"So the Fire Dragon managed to win, did he? No matter." The mystery man said as he got a read on Natsu's strength. "Now let's see which dragon is next. Let's try one of the two that are a little distant from the others." He worked on his computer and brought up images of Sting and Rogue. "Scarcer should be close to them. Let's see how the one of light or shadows does." Trouble was heading for Sabertooth. It's not just Fairy Tail this enemy is after. This one might require all seven dragons.


	3. Ahoy Duelists

"That's when the monster showed itself and attacked. Bwelglhaha!" Sting said as he tried to act like a monster. Sabertooth is working on some changes. Jiemma is gone and Sabertooth is working on taking turns for the better. At the moment in night, Sting with his friends were trying to pass some time with ghost stories. Rogue and the others weren't impressed.

"That is scary…if I was five." Rogue said.

"Not that impressive." Minerva said.

"I have no memory of a worse ghost story." Rufus said.

"You guys don't know what's scary." Sting said. "What about you Orga?" All of them looked to Orga and he did look a little scared. Sting felt good and the others felt pity for Orga.

"Hey, guys!" Yukino called out as she ran right into the guild hall and ran towards the five of them.

"Yukino? What's wrong?" Minerva asked.

"You guys aren't going to believe this." Yukino said. "I was walking pass the docks when I noticed there was something out in the water. It looked like a ship and I thought it was bringing in supplies for someone. When the moon shined some light on it, it wasn't a normal ship. It was actually….a pirate ship."

"A pirate ship?" Rufus said.

"That's funny. Yukino wants in on the ghost story competition." Orga said.

"I promise that I'm not making this up. It's down by the water." Yukino said.

"Come on, Yukino. Pirates don't exist these days." Sting said. Yukino was having a hard time believing Yukino. Suddenly, the lights were flickering until they completely went out. "What happened to the lights?"

"It's probably a blown fuse." Rogue said.

"Or maybe a power outage." Orga said.

"Or maybe it's me." The lights came back on and saw someone joined them. It was an actual pirate with a striped shirt and wore a maroon jacket and hat.

"No way! An actual pirate?!" Rogue said.

"He's got Yukino!" Minerva said as they saw Yukino was held right over his shoulders.

"Let her go." Sting said.

"Sorry, but I need her." The pirate said as he made a run for it.

"Not if I can help it. Get back here." Sting said as he went after him with the others following to save Yukino.

….

The Docks

Sting and the others chased the pirate that kidnapped Yukino through their town. They followed him to the docks and when they got there, they saw what Yukino was trying to warn them about.

"Check it out. An actual pirate ship." Orga said.

"Yukino was telling the truth. That's also where that creep had to have taken Yukino." Sting said. "Let's go." All of them ran down the docks and there was a set of stairs for them to walk on. All of them climbed on the ship and instantly found Yukino tied to the mass. "Yukino!"

"Guys! Sorry. I got caught real easily." Yukino said.

"It's okay. We're going to get you out of there." Minerva said as all of them were about to help her.

"Argh!" All of them looked up and saw the pirate slide down on a rope and landed next to Yukino. "Welcome aboard mi ship."

"Let Yukino go, you sea loony." Sting said.

"Who are you?" Rogue asked.

"You may call me Captain Scarcer. This is quite the lovely land maiden you have here."

"Too bad she isn't staying. I'm not going to tell you again. Let her go." Sting said and was ready to take some action. Scarcer took a look at him and was getting quite familiar with him and Rogue.

'That one and the on in black is the one I was told about.' Scarcer thought. 'Time to find out what they're all about.' "If you want to save your crewmate so badly, you'll have to win my little challenge."

"What challenge?" Sting questioned. Scarcer reached behind his back and pulled out a jewel-covered duel disk. "A duel? A pirate that knows how to duel? You're on. I'll take you." Sting reach for his own duel disk and pulled it out. Both of them activated it and were ready for action.

"Let's duel!" Both of them said with them having 4000LP.

"Be careful, Sting." Yukino said.

"Don't worry. You'll get out of there." Sting said.

"Don't bet on it, lassie." Scarcer said. "Your little friends better not try anything or else she'll be swimming with the fishes."

"Take him down, Sting." Minerva said. "I'm getting annoyed already with the pirate talk and his smell annoys me."

"I'm on it. I draw!" Sting said as he took the first turn. "I'll start by activating my Swords of Revealing Light." Swords made out of light were formed and trapped Scarcer. "Now you can't attack for three turns. Next, I summon Lancerin: Lancer of Holy Light." Sting summoned a night-like soldier holding a lance and had 1800atk points. "I end my turn."

"My turn!" Scarcer said as he drew his card. "These swords of yours are a problem, but not a big one. I activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your spell."

"No way!" Sting said. A cyclone formed around Scarcer and destroyed Sting's spell.

"I'm not stopping there. I summon Skull Pirate First Mate." Scarcer said as a pirate with a skull head came on the field and had 1200atk points. "I'm also going to use Curse Treasure. This spell card has me give you a card from my hand. However, if you use it, you take a 1000 points of damage. Here you go." He tossed the card and Sting caught it.

"Cursed Eyepatch? I can only use this on my monsters, but it will weaken them." Sting said. "No problem. I won't use it."

"You'll have to due to my Skull Pirate's special ability." Scarcer said. "When he's in attack mode and we exchange cards, we have to use the cards we take or we can't attack."

"Are you serious?" Sting said.

"I place one card facedown to end my turn." Scarcer said.

"He's putting Sting in a bind. If he doesn't use that spell, he can't attack." Rufus said.

"But if he does, he'll take damage." Orga said.

"I'm sure he'll figure out a way out of this." Rogue said.

"My turn!" Sting said as he drew a card. "I summon Percivin: Swordsman of Holy Light to the field." Sting's new monster was a pure white night with a blue cape and wielded a sword with 1600atk points. "I don't have a choice. I equip Curse Eyepatch on Percivin." A dark eyepatch was placed over his knight's helmet and it looked to be in pain as his attack points dropped to 800.

"Since you activated that card, Curse Treasure will now deal 1000 points of damage!" Scarcer said. Sting got electrocuted and his life points dropped to 3000.

"Whoa. That actually hurt, but at least I can attack. Lancerin, you're first! Take out his Skull Pirate!" Sting said. Lancerin charged right at the pirate and destroyed it with Scarcer's life points dropping to 3400. "There's more. When he deals damage, he adds an extra 300 to it." Lancerin shot a laser form his lance and blasted Scarcer as they dropped to 3100. "Percivin, it's your turn! Attack with **Shimmering Slash**!" Light gathered around Percivin's sword and he slashed against Scarcer and his life points went to 2300.

"I thank you because I can use Return Cannon Fire! This trap takes all battle damage you gave me and gives it back!" Scarcer said. The trap blasted Sting and his life points dropped to 1600 and he was knocked off his feet.

"Oh no!" Yukino said.

"Sting, are you okay?" Rogue said.

"I'm fine." Sting said as he managed to get back up. "I'll just end my turn."

"My turn!" Scarcer said. "I play Pot of Greed and draw two more cards." He drew two more cards and liked what he sees. "I activate Curse Treasure."

"Not again." Sting said.

"That's right. You get another card and here it is." Scarcer said as he tossed another card and Sting took it.

"Skull Pirate Shipwright? This could bring back a card in my graveyard, but I have to summon it." Sting said.

"Since I have no other cards in my hand, I can now summon Skull Pirate Captain without any sacrifices." Scarcer said and summoned his monster. A pirate captain dressed in black with a skull face and even had a black beard. It also had 2400atk points. "Thanks to his special ability, I can bring back a Skull Pirate. Come back Skull Pirate First Mate." His first monster returned to the field in attack mode. "Let the fun begin. Skull Pirate Captain, attack Lancerin!" His monster pulled out a sword and slashed against Lancerin with Sting's life points dropping to 1000. "Skull Pirate First Mate, your turn!" His Skull Pirate First Mate pulled a sword and slashed against Percivin and Sting's life points dropped even more to 600.

"Sting!" Rogue called, but he wasn't done. Sting managed to get back on his feet.

"I end my turn. Not that you can do much to win now." Scarcer said.

"That's what you think. It all comes down to what I draw." Sting said and he drew his card and saw it was a spell. "This could work. I play Reverse Direction, but we'll get to that in a moment. I'm summoning the card you gave me. I summon Skull Pirate Shipwright." He summoned another skull pirate with it having 400atk points.

"You just sealed your fate for playing that card has sealed your fate." Scarcer said.

"Not really because Reverse Direction causes all effect damage I take this turn to be sent to you." Sting said. Electricity was going to hit him, but turned and hit Scarcer with his life points dropping to 1300. "Now, thanks to your own monster, I get a card from my graveyard and place it in my hand. I choose Swords of Revealing Light."

"Trying to postpone your demise?" Scarcer questioned.

"Not quite." Sting said. "I activate Holy Light Miracle Fusion! All I have to do is send a spell to the graveyard, I can fusion summon with Holy Light monsters in my graveyard and return them to my deck."

"Fusion summon?!" Scarcer said.

"That's right. So I'll fuse Lanerin and Percivin." Sting said as the two of them started to merge. "Watch as these two warriors of light become one. I fusion summon Dynamo: Twin Lancer of Holy Light." A white knight with wing extensions and twin lances came out and had 2500atk points. "The beauty of this guy is that he can attack twice."

"I be heading for Davey Jones' Locker!" Scarcer said.

"Yeah, wherever that is! Dynamo, attack now with **Twin Shining Spear Strike**!" His lancer flew at both monsters and struck both of them with his lances. Scarcer was blown back from the attack as all his life points dropped to zero. When the duel ended, the ropes holding Yukino broke apart and she ran to her friends.

"Yukino! He didn't hurt you, did he?" Sting said.

"No. I'm fine. Thank you." Yukino said. They were all glad she was safe.

"Argh…" Scarcer groaned and they all look to him. "You may have won, boy, but your fight is far from over. You seven dragons might be powerful, but you have no idea what you're up against." Before they could question him, cracks in the ship were starting to form and the ship was groaning.

"The ship is breaking apart. We have to get out off of it!" Rogue said. All of them hurried off the boat and were able to make it out just as the ship broke to pieces and sank into the water.

"That was nuts." Sting said.

"Looks like the captain went down with his ship." Orga said.

"Sting, did you hear what he said?" Rogue said. "He said all seven of us dragons."

"You think Natsu and the others might be in some trouble?" Sting said.

"Probably. We should get in contact with Fairy Tail and see if they know anything. I have a bad feeling that something big is going to happen." Rogue said and he had no idea how right he really is.


	4. Mongoose vs Snake

"Seriously? You guys were attacked too?" Natsu said over the phone. He got a message from Sting and Rogue and he learned about what happened with them. "I had to duel as well. Yeah, he said something like that. Okay. Later." Natsu ended the call and turned to some who were curious.

"So Sabertooth received a surprise visit from an enemy as well." Makarov said. "This does not look good. Someone is obviously trying to stir some trouble."

"And it seems pretty clear that Natsu and the others who hold one of the seven dragons are the targets." Mirajane said.

"Let them try and come at me. I'll take anyone down who wants to mess with me." Gajeel said.

"I like to know who it is that wants to fight this time." Gray said.

"Seems like I came here at a good time." All of them look towards the door and noticed Erik walking in.

"Erik?! What are you doing here?" Lucy asked.

"Erza contacted Jellal and already gave us a heads up." Erik said. "Seeing as how whoever is behind this is targeting one of us, she thought it would be best to give me some kind of warning. So Jellal sent me down here to see what you guys know."

"I take it you overheard what we were talking about." Makarov said.

"Sorry for eavesdropping. This also would have given me a chance to pay a visit to Kinana." Erik said.

"Jellal informed me ahead of time of a few things." Erza said.

"Here's what I have." Erik said as he took out a map and laid it out on a table. "Do you guys remember when Jellal went a little psycho on us? While he was under that dark power's influence, he felt another dark presence somewhere in the world. Jellal believes this could be the work of that same dark energy." Lucy looked to the side and noticed Wendy seemed a little discouraged.

"Is something wrong, Wendy?" Lucy asked.

"I just can't believe we're back to this." Wendy said. "I thought it was all done, someone wanting to ruin everything for everyone, and dueling can just go back to being a fun game."

"I know it must be hard, but something like this must be done." Makarov said.

"Don't worry, Wendy. We'll be here to help you every step of the way." Erza said. "You were saying, Erik?"

"Well, Jellal has been trying to find that darkness or whatever it is." Erik said. "We found something around here." He said as he pointed towards the forest. "I'm on my way there to investigate."

"Cool. Let's go." Natsu said as he was ready for some action.

"No way. You're only going to get in my way." Erik said. "I only came here to keep you guys in the loop. I'll let you guys know if I find anything." Erik took the map and was on his way out, but Natsu was never one to be left out of the action.

…

The Lab

The mysterious figure was reading over some of the data that was gathered on Natsu and Sting.

"Interesting. They were able to win their duels without even calling on their dragons." The mysterious man said. "I wonder if the other five are like this. The dragons didn't make any poor choices in strength so far." He kept looking over the data until he heard an alarm go off and saw Erik making his way through the woods on camera. "Looks like an unwanted guess is heading this way."

"That's why you have motion sensors. So you don't get surprised."

"That you, Mongoo?" Someone jumped down behind him and this man looked human, but he had fur on his arms with a tail and whiskers.

"Let me take care of the intruder." Mongoo said.

"He is one of the seven dragons. Very well."

"You won't be disappointed." Mongoo said and jumped to the ceiling and was on his way to face him.

…..

Erik

Erik made his way through the woods as he was trying to find anything suspicious that led to the mysterious threat. As Erik was walking through, he came to a stop as he heard something.

"No one sneaks on me!" Erik said as he tossed a card at a bush.

"Hey!" Natsu was the one that came out of the bush with Lucy. "Watch where you throw these things."

"What are you two doing here?" Erik said. "I told you to stay out of this. I can handle whatever comes my way."

"We know, but you know how Natsu is. I came with him so he wouldn't cause so much trouble." Lucy said.

"I really wonder why you hang out with him so much." Erik said.

"Hey!" Natsu said. "Look, I'm coming along on this and you aren't doing anything to stop me. So how about you just tell us what we're suppose to find so I can get right to the duel winning." Erik could see there was no way for him to get these two off his back.

"Fine." Erik said. "Just don't get in my way. According to some information we gathered, there should be a lab somewhere around here. It was left abandoned a while back. In fact, your guild buddy, Sabertooth owned it."

"I remember that!" Lucy said. "We met someone who escaped form there a while back. They forced duelists in terrible positions trying to create the ultimate duelists."

"Now someone else is using it for trouble. Let's go." Drake said. All of them were going to keep going, but they all heard some sort of laughter.

"You're not really allowed here."

"Show yourself!" Erik demanded. He got what he wanted as Mongoo jumped down in front of them. "Who are you?"

"He looks like a giant rodent." Lucy said.

"I smell a snake." Mongoo said. "I can't stand snakes!"

"I guess you're talking about me." Erik said. "I'm in no mood for your games. So you have two options. Move out of the way or I'll hurt you." He said as he held out his duel disk.

"That's perfectly fine. I have orders to stop you." Mongoo said as he held out a duel disk. "I smell the scent of a snake on you. I'm a mongoose. We're natural enemies. This feels right."

"Quit being creepy. Let's just do this already." Erik said as both of them activated their duel disks and were ready to go.

"Let's duel!" Both of them said and had 4000LP.

"I'll start things off." Mongoo said as he drew a card. "I place…five face-downs!" He played five cards and everyone couldn't believe it.

"Five cards?! That's a really tricky play." Lucy said. "There's no telling what those cards could be."

"I'm also going to summon my Mongoose Sickler to the field." A mongoose holding a sickle came on and had 1000atk points. "When this guy is summoned, one spell or trap card is destroyed."

"But you're the only one that has any." Erik said.

"Exactly." Mongoo said as the middle card was destroyed. "I did that to use that card. Mongoose Double. When this trap card is destroyed, a mongoose token appears." A mongoose came out and had no defense points. "I end my turn."

"My move." Erik said. "I'll start by playing my favorite. I activate Thought Listener. As long as this remains on my field, I can see every card in your hand. So the only surprises will be from your face-downs. Next, I'm summoning Cubelios." A purple snake with wings flew on the field and had 1200atk points. "Take a bite out that rodent!" Cubelios flew at Mongoose Sickler and crushed it with its fangs and destroyed it with Mongoo's life points dropping to 3800. "I place one card facedown to end my turn."

"That all you got? No problem." Mongoo said as he drew his next card and they could see it. It was another Mongoo Sickler. "Look at that. It's the card you destroyed. So I'll play it again." Another one came out on the field. "That means I destroy another card. I'll destroy my own and it's another copy of the same card." His mongoose destroyed another card and it was another Mongoose Double. "That means I get another mongoose token." Another came out with the same points.

"What is he up to?" Natsu said.

"Now I play my trap. It's Mongoose Assault. Since I have three mongooses out, your monster is destroyed and you take damage equal to its attack points." Mongoo said. All three of his monsters attacked and destroyed Cubelios with Erik having 2800LP. "With your snake out of the way, Mongoose Sickler can attack you directly!" His mongoose went on the attack and he was wide open.

"I activate Viper Lasher!" Erik said. "A snake doesn't like to be messed with. When you attack me directly, I'm allowed to summon a reptile straight from my deck if it has less than a 1000atk points. I think I'll go with my Rocky Boa." A giant snake covered in rocks came on the field with 2300def points.

"2300def points?! I'll call off my attack." Mongoo said and his attack ended. "That ends my turn."

"Fine with me. As long as Rocky Boa is on the field, all my snakes will gain 300def points." Erik said. "It's my turn now. Since I have a reptile on my field, but you have more monsters, I can summon this guy without any tribute. I summon Jet Black Serpent." A giant black snake slithered out with 2000atk points.

"His monsters are really creepy." Lucy said as she felt uncomfortable.

"I'm not in the mood for any other surprises. So I'm going to activate my Thermal Snake Vision." Erik said. "Since I have a snake on the field, this will allow me to see your face-downs." Both cards came up. One was another Mongoose Double, but Erik was cautious of his spell card. "Interesting. For now, I'll have Jet Black Serpent take out Mongoose Sickler." His giant snake went on the attack and slammed against the mongoose with Mongoo's life points dropping to 2800.

"Typical of a snake." Mongoo said.

"I think I know what you're planning." Erik said. "Your spell card was Animal Frenzy. That will destroy every card on my field and take away half of my life points, but you need five monsters to use it. Your plan is to draw another monster and destroy your last Mongoose Double. You'll still be one monster short."

"Is that so? Let's find out." Mongoo said. "It's my turn now." He drew his next card and it was another monster. "I summon Mongoose Digger to the field." Another mongoose came out with large metal claws and had 1300atk points. "Mongoose Digger has the same ability as my other two. Mongoose Double is destroyed." His mongoose destroyed his card and the third token appeared. "Mongoose Digger also brings back one of my other mongooses, but they don't have their abilities and their points drop to zero. Welcome back, Mongoose Sickler." His mongoose came back, but lost all its power with it in defense mode. "Looks like it happened after all."

"Here it comes." Erik said as he got ready.

"I activate Animal Frenzy!" Mongoo said. "Now that I have five monsters on my field, all your cards are destroyed and you use half of your life points." A great flash came from the card and all of Erik's cards were destroyed and his life points dropped to 1400. "With your field empty, Mongoose Digger can attack you directly!" His mongoose slashed against Erik and he was left with only 100LP.

"That was close." Natsu said.

"Yeah, but one more attack and it's all over." Lucy said.

"Make your final move." Mongoo said.

"I will." Erik said as he drew his card. "I'm activating Clone Demise. Since I have Thought Listener in my graveyard, I can send the other two in there."

"Why would he get rid of his favorite card?" Natsu questioned.

"Because now he loses 300LP for each copy. That's 900." Erik said. He discarded the other two and Mongoo got blasted with his life points dropping to 2100. "Next, I'm activating Revived Faith. This spell card allows me to take back all my Thought Listeners and place them back in my deck. After that, I can draw a card for each copy." He got back all his cards and placed them back in so he could draw new cards.

"So what? I doubt you drew anything that can help you." Mongoo said.

"You lose that bet." Erik said. Mongoo was on edge with what he got. "I take Phantom Snake from my hand and remove it from play. Since he had snake in his name, I can now summon King Black Cobra!" Erik summoned out another snake and this one was huge and as black as midnight with it having 2800atk points.

"That's one huge snake!" Lucy screamed. Mongoo wasn't liking this either.

"This duel is over. My cobra can attack all your monsters and for each monster he destroys, you lose 800LP." Erik said. "Time to eat. Attack his rodents and end this!" King Black Cobra lunged itself and tackled all of them. He ate Mongoose Digger and tackled Mongoo with all of Mongoo's life points taken away.

"Oh yeah!" Natsu said.

"You should be careful when you provoke a snake. They always bite back." Erik said.

"This round may have gone to the snakes, but you're not out of the woods yet." Mongoo said as he laughed just as he turned to stardust.

"Whoa! What just happened?" Erik said.

"I'm not sure." Lucy said. "I have a feeling we're really close to what we're looking for. A vampire, a pirate, and whatever he was? They must be connected."

"Hey! Over here!" Natsu called out. Erik and Lucy rushed over to where Natsu was. They all looked over the bushes and they found it.

"That must the entrance to the lab." Erik said.

"Yeah. I'm also willing to bet that we'll find answers in there." Erik said. Inside that lab lies answers, but they might get more questions.


	5. Dino Thunder

"So you were able to find the location of our mystery enemy?" Makarov said.

"Yeah. Whoever it is hiding out in the lab that was owned by Sabertooth." Lucy said. Lucy, Natus, and Erik came back to the guild and told everyone what was going on.

"So what do we do? Call the police?" Wendy questioned.

"No way. We don't have enough evidence to prove anything. They'll just think we're crazy." Gajeel said.

"Besides, this guy wants us dragons. I say we give him what he wants." Laxus said.

"I'm all for that." Natsu said.

"We should call Sting and Rogue about this. I'm sure they want to know what's going on." Gajeel said.

"I already did it." Makarov said. "I had a feeling where this might be going. I'll allow you all to go, but you have to be careful. We're dealing with an enemy that we know nothing about. Erik, you'll be going too, right?"

"Yeah. I already gave Jellal the info and he gave me permission to go on ahead." Erik said.

"We're going as well." Gray said as he referred to himself, Erza, and Lucy. "No way we're missing out of the action."

"Master, will you allow us to go as well?" Erza asked.

"Of course. You three have stood by Natsu's side and fought alongside him. I see no reason as to why the three of you can't." Makarov said. "Just promise me that all of you will be careful." All of them understood the situation. They have to face this mysterious enemy before any permanent damage is done.

…

The Abandon Lab

"Fire, light, and poison." The mystery man said. "Very tough duelists. They can even pull off some sort of miracles. Truly powerful duelists are capable of doing such a thing." The alarm went off again and he was looking through some security cameras footage. He looked around and noticed Sting and Rogue hiding out. "Two more of them came. Renso!"

"Up here." The mystery man looked up and saw a green lizard-man hanging from the ceiling.

"Intercept the enemy and try and get one of the four who haven't dueled yet." The mystery man said. "We need to gather some data on all of them and test their strengths."

"I'm on it." Renso said as he climbed up.

…

Outside

Natsu and everyone waited until it was later in the day to use the setting sun and night later to keep themselves covered. Sting and Rogue waited outside the lab until reinforcements showed up.

"Hey." They felt someone tap their shoulders. Sting and Rogue turned around and met with Natsu and the team.

"Hey. Glad to see you guys made it." Sting said.

"Same here." Wendy said.

"Have you seen anything out of the ordinary?" Gajeel said.

"Not quite." Rogue said.

"This place just brings up some bad memories." Sting said. "Are you sure the guy we're looking for is in there?"

"It's a good place to start." Erik said. "Jellal found some strange energy come from around this forest. That lab is really the only place around here anyone can really hide in."

"What are we waiting for? Let's get in there." Natsu said as he ran right for it, but Laxus grabbed him and held him back.

"Hold on, Natsu. We're dealing with an enemy we know nothing about." Laxus said. "We don't know what we might find in there."

"Who cares? That's where the bad guys are. That's all we really need to know." Natsu said.

"This might be hard for you to understand, but not everyone wants to take it by storm." Laxus said. "The direct approach isn't always the best approach."

"Laxus has a point." Erik said. "We have to be careful about this. The enemy might already know we're here. Remember that mongoose? He showed up out of nowhere and knew where we were. He tried to keep us from getting to this lab."

"So what? If he already knows we're here, what's the point in sneaking around? Let's just go in already." Natsu said.

"Boy, you are an idiot for not thinking things through." Laxus said.

"I actually like the boy's idea. If he wants to be dumb enough to walk right into our hands, I say you should just let him." All of them heard a strange voice and they all looked around to see who it was coming from.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" Erza said.

"Okay!" All of them looked towards the lab and saw Renso dig his way out from the ground and was blocking the entrance.

"Looks like they already know we're here." Gray said.

"Yeah and that guy needs some serious moisturizer." Lucy said.

"How lucky I am." Renso said. "I get to have all of you to myself. My master would appreciated if you went away, but if any of you dragons want to duel, I am happy to give you one."

"You want a duel? Bring it on. I'll take you on." Natsu said as he was ready for action.

"Not you." Renso said. "You already dueled against one of us, Fire Dragon. I want one of the dragons who haven't dueled yet."

"One who hasn't yet?" Gray said.

"They must be trying to learn more about the dragons. Basic combat knowledge to gather info on your enemies." Erza said.

"So which one of you is it going to be?" Renso said. All of them were ready to take action, but Laxus was the one that stepped forward.

"I'll take him." Laxus said. "I'll make quick work of this lizard. We don't really have any time to be wasting."

"No fair. I want to duel him." Natsu said.

"Just shut up and let Laxus handle this. If you duel him, it will take too long." Gray said. "Laxus is right. We can't be wasting our time.""

"You think you can defeat me quickly? We'll see about that." Renso said as they both activated their duel disks.

"Duel!" Both of them said and had 4000LP.

"I'll go first." Renso said as he drew his first card. "I send Sabersaurus and Black Veloci to the graveyard. By sending two dinos to the graveyard, I can now summon Jurssicsaurus!" A giant tyrannosaur-like dinosaur came out on the field with it dark red with spikes running down its spine. Its attack points…unknown. "I know his attack points aren't known, but that's because the attack points of the monsters used to summon it give it power. Sabersaurus had 1900 and Black Veloci had 1800." The power added up all the way to 3700atk points.

"Unreal. He was able to summon a monster with over 3000atk points on his first turn." Wendy said.

"I'm also going to play my continuous spell. Dinosaur Restore. During my standby phase, this spell will bring back a dinosaur from my graveyard." Renso said. "With that, I end my turn. Let's see how you plan to end this quickly."

"I draw." Laxus said. "I summon my Lightning Gargoyle in defense mode." His yellow gargoyle came out and 1000def points. "I'll also place two cards facedown and end my turn."

"Wow. That was quick." Renso taunted.

"What the heck was that Laxus? You usually blow something up with lightning." Natsu said.

"I told you, Natsu, not everyone prefers to take everything by storm. Just shut up for once shut up and watch." Laxus said.

"It's my turn!" Renso said as he took his turn. "Thanks to my spell, a dino in my graveyard comes back in defense mode. So I'm going to bring back Sabersaurus." His Sabersaurus rose to the field with it having 500def points. "Sadly, he won't be staying because I can sacrifice him and give 500 additional attack points to Jurassicsaurus." His dinosaur disappeared and Jurassicsaurus gained power up to 4200. "I'm also going to summon Saber Stego to the field." A stegosaur with blades instead of spikes came on the field with 1400atk points. "I also know you have some plan with those two face-downs."

"Do I?" Laxus taunted.

"I'm not going to fall for your taunts. I play Dinosaur Alloy and equip it on to my Jurassicsaurus." Renso said and his dinosaur was now wearing armor. "That should keep him safe from the effects of your traps. Saber Stego, clear the way for Jurassicsaurus and take out his Lightning Gargoyle." His stegosaur went on the attack as it charged.

"Not good. If he gets rid of Laxus' only monster, Jurassicsaurus will finish it." Rogue said.

"Just watch. Laxus isn't going down so easily." Erza said. Saber Stego struck his gargoyle and destroyed it.

"I was expecting more. Jurassicsaurus, crush him!" Renso said. His dino charged and everyone was getting worried.

"Not so fast. By sending Lightning Serpent to the graveyard, I only lose a mere 1000LP." Laxus said as lightning spread through the field and stopped the attack with Laxus having 3000LP.

"So you weren't planning to use your face-downs to stop me. Let's find out what you're really up to. I end my turn." Renso said.

"Good." Laxus said as he drew his card. "You think you got me, but you don't know how wrong you are. Your monsters might be powerful, but that will change once I play this." He held up a spell and it was not good for Renso.

"Lightning Vortex?!" Renso said.

"That's right. I just need to ditch a card to use it and your dinosaurs go extinct." Laxus said as he discarded a card. Lightning came down and destroyed all of Renso's monsters. "Next, I'm playing my facedown. It's the trap, Requiem Service. This brings back a monster in my graveyard, but it will have no attack points and a token copy of that monster is made. I'll bring back Lightning Gargoyle." His gargoyle and a copy of his gargoyle came out with no attack points.

"What good are those two going to do?" Renso questioned.

"You're about to find out." Laxus said. "I activate Thunder Level Double. Since I have two monsters with the same name and a thunder-type, their levels double. Now they're both level eight. With that done, I build the overlay network." Both of his monsters became pure energy as a sparkling vortex the two joined in. "I xyz summon Thunder End Dragon." His xyz dragon came on the field and had 3000atk points.

"Oh man!" Renso said as he was scared on where this was going.

"I'm also going to play my trap card: Charged Overload." Laxus said. "At the end of this turn, my dragon will be destroyed, but that's only because this trap card doubles his attack points." His dragon build some power as its attack points rose to 6000. "I told you this would end quickly. Thunder End Dragon, attack with **Devastating Thunderstorm**!" Thunder End Dragon unleashed a powerful blast of thunder. It caused a great explosion with Renso losing all his life points.

"Whoa! That's some power!" Natsu said as it was always incredible how skilled Laxus was.

…

The Lab

"Unreal!" The mystery man said. "He was able to defeat Ranso in just two rounds! He wasn't even pushed or anything like the others. We'll have to be cautious of that one." The mystery man kept his eyes on the video footage, but there was one other that caught his eye. "Wait. Is that who I think it is?" The mystery man brought the video in tighter on one of them and was completely shocked. "Gray!"

…..

The Lab

Renso was laying on the ground after the one-hit attack. Laxus walked over to him and wasn't quite done with him yet.

"Get up." Laxus said. "Perhaps you can give us answers." Renso wasn't reacting. "I said get up." Laxus reached for him, but Renso crumbled to dust. "Whoa! Did my attack hit him that hard?"

"It's not like that." Erza said. "I think dueling might be a little more "serious" for these guys than for us."

"After that explosion, the enemy must know we're here by now." Rogue said.

"I thought you said something about not taking it by storm?" Natsu said.

"I didn't. My plan was to summon Thunder End Dragon all along, but I knew it would take a couple turns." Laxus said. "If I dueled the way you duel, that wouldn't have happened and I would have been in a lot of trouble."

"What's that suppose to mean?!" Natsu said.

"Enough." Erza said.

"We don't have time to be fighting against each other. Let's just go." Lucy said. All of them agreed and they all carefully went through the front door.

"I can't see anything." Wendy said.

"Let's try and stay together." Gray said. All of them were careful, but the mystery man was already ahead of them. He flipped a switch and the floor opened up under them and Gray was the only that didn't fell in. "Guys!" He shouted as he watched all his friends fall into the dark where more horrors could await them.


	6. Iron Shadow Pt1

"Natsu? Natsu? Wake up." Natsu could hear someone calling for him, but all he could see was darkness.

"Natsu." Natsu heard a different voice this time. Natsu was able to open his eyes and saw Lucy was over him. "You're awake. Thank goodness."

"Yeah…" Natsu said, but he wondered who the first voice belonged to. Natsu sat up and saw some of the others with him. He looked around and saw they were in a dark forest. "Hold on. I thought we all fell. How did we get outside?"

"We're not exactly outside." Erik said. "I had a look around. This forest is underground, but the plants are real. They must have implanted some plants here for research purposes."

"Oh man. That was one nasty fall." Laxus said. "The trees must have caught some of us. Good thing or that fall could have been a lot worse."

"No. This lab was used to create the perfect duelist. They probably made this jungle for harsh environment purposes." Sting said.

"Guys, I don't see Gray." Wendy said.

"Gray was the lucky one." Erza said. "He didn't fall with us. However, I don't see Rogue and Gajeel. They must have gotten separated from us during the fall."

"We better find them." Laxus said. "We don't know what's down here and we need to find a way out of here. Whoever is doing this to us could be watching us right now."

"Good idea." Lucy said. All of them were able to get up and started searching for Gajeel and Rogue as well as an exit.

….

The Mystery Man

"Hey! Open the door!" The mystery man was watching a video of Gray. Gray was trying to open up the trapdoor the others fell through.

"I never would have thought he would be here too."

"You spared that one? That seems nice. Any reason?"

"Is that you, Sten?" The mystery man asked. A man walked up behind him wearing a suit, but he had pale skin with dark grey hair. He also had a creepy grin on his face.

"Yes, sir. How come you spared that one from falling?" Sten asked.

"I have my reasons." The mystery man said. "I'm glad you're here, Sten. I want you take care of our intruders in the little green house. I'll deal with that one personally."

"Okay, but why that one?" Sten asked. "He doesn't have a dragon. Why so interested in that man?"

"I just said I have my reasons. Now get going." The mystery man said.

"Okay." Sten said and walked away. The mystery man seems real interested in Gray, but Gray doesn't hold any of the seven dragons. So why did he spare him?"

….

Gray

Gray kept banging against the floor to get it to open up, but it wouldn't even budge.

"No good." Gray said. "This dumb thing won't open up." Gray wasn't sure if his friends are safe, but he needs to figure out a way to get to them.

"You won't get that door to open." Gray heard someone's voice over a speaker system. "Consider this your warning. Leave while you still can. This has nothing to do with you."

"You've got to be kidding." Gray said. "You don't know me very well. Otherwise you would know that no one in our dueling guild would ever abandon another or any friend."

"Don't say I didn't warn you." The mystery man said and turned off the system. Gray wanted to help his friends, but he sees there's nothing he can do from here.

"Just hang on, you guys." Gray said and ran on inside. 'I'll just have to have faith that Natsu and the others will be okay. I need to find out who is behind all this and try and take that person down.' He thought and went on in on his own.

…..

Gajeel and Rogue

At some point during the fall, Gajeel and Rogue ended up separated from the others. Since the two of them were on their own, they tried to find the others or a way out on their own.

"Man. Who designed this place? Where's the dang exit?" Gajeel said. "Did this place really use to be under Sabertooth's control?"

"Yeah." Rogue said. "This place was used to train duelists under harsh conditions. Sabertooth has done many things we're not proud of anymore. Jiemma was a vicious man who cared for nothing, but power. That's why with him gone, we're hoping the guild will be a better place."

"Hang on. Rogue, look ahead." Gajeel said. They looked through the trees and saw a metal bridge going across a chasm and saw a door on the other side. "Do you think that's the exit?"

"Let's go see." Rogue said as they both ran for it. Both of them ran across the bridge and to the door, but it was sealed shut.

"This looks like the exit, but I don't see a way to open the door. We also need to make sure the others find it if we're right." Rogue said.

"You're not really suppose to go through there." Both of them looked back across the bridge and they saw that Sten found them.

"Who are you?" Gajeel said.

"You're not really allowed to go through that door." Sten said. "Step away from that door or you will have to deal with me. I was told to take care of you and your friends."

"Is this guy giving you the creeps too?" Rogue asked.

"Yeah. He looks like something that just came out of the ground. Almost like a zombie." Gajeel said. "I don't know who you are, but don't think you can order us around."

"Are you with the person who did this to us?" Rogue asked.

"I have orders to take care of you and your friends. If you really do wish to get through that door, there's only one way." Sten said as he held out his duel disk. "You both possess one of the seven dragons. I think it would be beneficial to take on both of you."

"You want to take both of us? That would be a big mistake." Gajeel said.

"I say we do it." Rogue said. "With the both of us, things will get done a lot faster. Besides, they'll probably want to duel all seven of us at least once. I say we go for it."

"Fine, but I could have taken this creep by myself." Gajeel said as the two of them activated their duel disks and were getting ready to face each other.

"Let's duel!" All three said as they all evenly had 4000LP.

"I'll make the first move. I draw." Sten said as he drew his card.

"He could at least sound excited." Gajeel said. "That emotionless tone with that grin is a little messed up."

"I'll start by playing the spell card known as Fast Forward." Sten said. "Normally in a duel like this one, none of us are allowed to attack until everyone takes at least one turn. This spell card makes that rule invalid."

"Is he saying we can attack now? Why would he want that?" Rogue said.

"I now summon a monster known as Fragin." Sten said. He summoned a pale blue monster that was twice his height, but it looked ready to break apart with some cracks through its body. It also had no attack points. "I end my turn."

"What is that thing? It looks like it's ready to break into pieces." Gajeel said.

"I'm not sure. He summoned a monster with no attack points." Rogue said. "Be careful, Gajeel. He's clearly up to something."

"Let's find out." Gajeel said as he drew his card. "I summon my Karma Demon Iron Sword to the field." He summoned a demon in black iron and had a sword for an arm with him having 1600atk points. "Attack! Finish what someone started with Fragin!" His monster's sword revved like a chainsaw and slammed it against Fragin and Sten's life points dropped to 2400. "Got him."

"Not quite." Sten said. Fragments came off a Fragin, but they were rebuilding his body and some were sticking to Gajeel's monster.

"What's going on?" Gajeel said.

"Fragin can't be destroyed in battle when he's in attack mode, but that's not all." Sten said. "Take a look at your monster." His monster's eyes started glowing red and he switched over to Sten's field.

"What gives? Why did my monster switch sides?" Gajeel said.

"When a monster attacks Fragin, they switch to my field and stay here until he's destroyed or themselves are destroyed." Sten said.

"So that's why he wanted us to attack." Rogue said. Gajeel was mad he lost his monster, but there's nothing he can do about it.

"I end my turn. Rogue, be careful." Gajeel said.

"I'll be fine. At least we know what his monster's ability is. I draw." Rogue said and drew his card and looked at he got. "I'll start by activating Forced Given. I take a card in my hand and sent it and all three copies of it to the graveyard. I'll send my Pure Shadow Specter to the grave as well as the other two in my deck." He took all three copies and sent them away.

"That's a pretty tough monster. Why would you get rid of them?" Gajeel said.

"That's easy. When Pure Shadow Specter goes to the graveyard, but wasn't on the field. He comes out." Rogue said. "Since I sent three to the graveyard, they're coming back." Three robed figures with V-shaped snouts came out with each one having 1900atk points.

"Three level five monsters summoned at once?! Impressive." Gajeel said.

"Next, I'm activating Star Beamer." Rogue said. "By not battling this turn, you'll lose 100LP per level of all my monsters."

"He's got three level five monsters. That means he can deal 1500 points of damage." Gajeel said.

'I could attack him now and finish it, but I doubt he would just let that happen. He might have a card in his hand to prevent damage.' Rogue thought. 'With that Fragin's ability, we have to be careful.' "I place three cards facedown to end my turn. Since we've reached the end, you're taking 500 points of damage for each one of my Pure Shadow Specters." A beam of light was shot at Sten and it hit him with his life points dropping to 900.

"Nice. You just dealt some damage and got past Fragin's ability." Gajeel said.

"Yes, but you could have won right now if you attacked. I see you had some caution." Sten said. "You were smart. My turn. I activate Ring of Magnetism and equip it on Fragin." A ring appeared on Fragin's claw. "Normally, the ring drains my monster of 500 points, but Fragin has no attack or defense points. However, you must attack him now."

"Great. He's just going to keep trying to take control of our monsters." Gajeel said.

"Iron Sword, attack your former master." Sten said. Gajeel's monster obeyed Sten and slashed against Gajeel with Gajeel's life points dropping to 2400. "I place two cards facedown and end my turn."

"It's my turn!" Gajeel said and drew his next card.

"Now that it is, I can activate Gift of the Mystical Elf." Sten said. "I now gain 300LP for every monster that's on the field."

"We can't let him regain life points." Rogue said as he tried to act fast enough. "I activate Dark Corrupt. By sacrificing a Pure Shadow, this trap card nullifies a card that gives you life points. I'll release one of my Pure Shadow Specters." One of his specters turned into a stream of darkness and went to stop the trap.

"I don't think so. I play Miraculous Recovery." Sten said as his other facedown activated. "This trap protects a card that gives me life points. You can't stop it." A light shined and stopped Rogue's trap. "So I still regain life points."

"Perhaps, but a little less now that there's one less monster on the field." Rogue said as Sten's life points went to 2100.

"Keep trying, but I'm afraid you won't be able to win this duel." Sten said.

"Keep talking." Gajeel said with confidence, but he could see there might be a problem. 'Of course, this could be a problem. If we don't find some way to take this guy down, we could end up like him.'

To Be Continued….


	7. Iron Shadow Pt2

Natsu and his friends headed for the abandon lab, but they walked into a trap. All of them except for Gray fell through a trapdoor and ended up in some underground jungle. Gajeel and Rogue got separated from the others and they're looking for them right now.

"Gajee! Rogue! Where are you guys?" Lucy called out.

"They have to be somewhere." Erza said.

"I just hope they're okay." Wendy said.

"They're big boys. They can take care of themselves." Laxus said. "Maybe they already found a way out."

"I hope so." Lucy said, but she suddenly felt something touching her. "Erik, get your claw-like hands off my leg."

"Hey! She's my girl!" Natsu said.

"Uh…I'm over here." Erik said as he was nowhere in arm's reach of Lucy.

"Then…who's touching my….." Lucy looked down at her leg and saw a creepy looking lizard hanging on her leg. Lucy screamed as she tried to get it off.

"Lucy, calm down!" Sting said as they tried to help her get the lizard off, but Lucy wouldn't hold still. Lucy kicked her leg and tossed the lizard off. Wendy moved back, but she accidently walked into a spider's web. She looked to the side and saw a large spider walking on the web.

"AAAWWWWW!" Wendy broke through the web and just ran off.

"Wendy, what's wrong?!" Laxus said, but Wendy kept running.

"Wendy! Wendy, wait!" Erza called, but Wendy was already gone. "Now we have to find Gray, Gajeel, Rogue, and Wendy."

"Come on. Let's go help her." Natsu said and they all headed in the same direction Wendy went.

…..

Gajeel and Rogue

Gajeel and Rogue might have found an exit, but they'll have to get through Sten first. Sten had 2100LP with a monster called Fragin with no attack points and equipped with Ring of Magnetism. He also took control of Gajeel's Iron Sword with it having 1600atk points. Gajeel had 2400LP while Rogue had 4000 and two Pure Shadow Specters with two face-downs.

"Gajeel, be careful. That Fragin will take control of our monsters the moment we attack it." Rogue said.

"I know what I'm doing." Gajeel said. 'Attacking that Fragin is risky, but he still takes damage when we attack. Too bad I don't have a monster strong enough to end this right now, but I can still deal damage.' He thought. "I summon Karma Demon Iron Lance in defense mode." He summoned another demon with lances for arms and had 900def points. "I now activate his ability. He deals 200 points of damage for every card that's out. I count eight cards. So he can deal 1600 points of damage." His monster unleashed a barrage of energy shots and hit Sten and his life points dropped to 500.

"You managed to deal damage without attacking. Very good." Sten said. "Not good enough."

"I end my turn." Gajeel said. "Rogue, he only has 500LP remaining. We should finish him now while we can."

"I suppose you're right. It's my turn." Rogue said as he drew his card. "I activate Pure Shadow Charity. Since I have two Pure Shadows on the field, I gain 600LP." Rogue's life points went up to 4600. "Pure Shadow Specter, attack his Fragin and end this!" One of his specters went on the attack and was hoping to end this.

"You should have trust your previous instincts." Sten said. "I activate the spell known as Living Energy. This spell card transforms all damage into healing my life points when you attack a monster with no attack points."

"I knew it was a mistake." Rogue complained. Fragin was shattered by Specter, but healed itself with pieces of it attaching to Specter and Sten's life points rose to 2400. "I end my turn."

"My turn." Sten said as he drew a card. "I activate Scab Shard. I can only activate this when Fragin is on the field. For each monster now under my control, I destroy one card on the field. I have two, so I'll destroy both your monsters." Fragments of Fragin was launched and destroyed both of their monsters. "Now I'll have both of you attacked by your monsters." Specter and Iron Sword attacked their owners. Gajeel's life points dropped to 800 and Rogue's life points dropped to 3700.

"Gajeel, are you holding up okay." Rogue said.

"I'm barely even warmed up." Gajeel said.

"Are you sure?" Sten asked. "From what I'm seeing, you're just about done for. I end my turn."

"Okay. Time to get serious." Gajeel said. "It's my turn! Perfect. I'm activating the Reload spell. This spell allows me to take all the cards in my hand and shuffle them back in so that I can draw new cards." Gajeel placed his entire hand back in and drew five knew cards. "This should help. I activate Iron Diet. I send a monster with Iron in its name to the graveyard and gain its attack points as life points. I send my Karma Demon Iron Club to the grave." Gajeel was surrounded by a green aura and his life points went to 2600.

"Why give up a monster like that one?" Sten asked.

"I have my reasons. I place one card facedown to end my turn." Gajeel said. 'Now if he decides to attack me with both monsters, I can use Karma Demon Iron Spiral's ability to summon it. I just hope he attacks with Rogue's monster first. If he does, Iron Spiral's attack points will be the same as Pure Shadow Specter. That will give me an edge over him.' He thought.

"My turn!" Rogue said and drew his next card. "I summon Pure Shadow Raptor in defense mode." His black velociraptor-like creature came on the field with 800def points. "When Pure Shadow Raptor is summoned, I can also summon Pure Shadow Wing Raptor from my hand or deck." A black bird raptor came on the field and had 700def points. "That ends my turn."

"Is that it for the both of you?" Stern said. "I guess that means I should put an end to this. I draw. I'll put an end to you first, Gajeel."

'Come on. Attack me with Pure Shadow Specter first.' Gajeel thought.

"I attack….with your former monster." Stern said.

'No!' Gajeel thought.

"Karma Demon Iron sword, destroy your former master." Stern said. Gajeel's old monster attacked him and slashed against Gajeel with and his life points dropped to 1000. "I will end this. Pure Shadow Specter, attack Gajeel and end this." Rogue's own monster went on the attack.

'I guess I have no choice.' Gajeel thought as he was ready to use Iron Spiral's ability.

"I activate my trap!" Rogue said as he beat Gajeel to the punch. "Misdirection in the Dark. I'm only able to use this trap if there's a dark attribute monster on the field I pay half of my life points and I get to choose the target of your attack." Rogue glowed a red aura as his life points dropped to 1850. "I'll have Pure Shadow Specter attack Pure Shadow Raptor." The specter changed direction and slashed against Rogue's monster and destroyed it.

"Rogue, you didn't have to do that." Gajeel said.

"It's okay. I wanted to. We're a team, Gajeel. We're in this together." Rogue said.

"Oh well. One more turn makes no difference. I end my turn." Sten said.

"That's good because now that you're ending your turn, I can activate my trap. I activate Lost in Darkness." Rogue said. "Since my life points are lower than yours, I can remove a monster from play until the end of your next turn and you won't have a next turn. The monster I'm removing is Fragin." Fragin was pulled into a dark portal and vanished. "With Fragin gone, our monsters come back to us." Both of their monsters were free from Sten's control and went back to where they belonged.

"So that's why you lowered half of your life points. Nice work." Gajeel said. "It's my turn! Here goes! Perfect. I'm activating my trap card. It's called Carbon Absorption. This trap card takes one of my Karma Demons and makes that one even stronger. So I'll trade away Karma Demon Iron Sword for my Karma Demon Steel Sword." His monster transformed as its iron turned pure black with its sword arm changing to be completely smooth and sharp. It also had 2000atk points.

"That's it? I'll still have plenty of life points remaining." Sten said. 'What they don't know is that I'm holding another Living Energy card and I'll regain life points with it.'

"I activate Steel Sword's ability. Rogue, can I borrow your monster?" Gajeel said.

"Go for it." Rogue said.

"Steel Sword can destroy one card on the field." Gajeel said. "After he does that, he can deal double the damage. One more thing I should mention. You can't use any of your spell or trap cards until he attacks, in case you were planning to use one to save you." That ruined Sten's plans and now there's nothing he can do to stop Gajeel. Pure Shadow Wing Raptor became a shadow and was absorbed into Gajeel's monster.

"I think we got him." Rogue said.

"I think you're right. Go, Karma Demon Steel Sword! Put an end to this with **Steel Finishing Slasher**!" Gajeel said. His monster went on the attack and made a powerful slash against Sten and took out all of his life points.

"I guess you win." Sten said. "Congratulations. You can now pass through the door. However, you still have to face him on the other end." Sten lost his balance and he fell into the chasm below and was lost in the dark.

"He's gone!" Rogue said.

"Hopefully that's the last we see of that weirdo." Gajeel said. They both heard a noise behind them. They turned around and saw the door open on their side. "The door opened. It looks like we got an exit."

"We still need to find the others and bring them over here." Rogue said. "You and I may have won, but there's no telling what could be on the other side of there." Gajeel understood that. The dragons have dealt with one Halloween weirdo after another. There's no telling what's on the other side of there.

…

Gray

Gray was on his own as he continued to search for the lab. As he made his way through the lab, he made some progress going down.

"This place is bigger than it looks." Gray said. "Most of the lab seems to be underground. The part we saw outside must have been the main entrance. Still, there's no sign of the others. How do people know where they're going down here?" Gray continued to look for his friends or whoever it was that was behind all of this.

"You can still turn back." The mystery man said as he used the speakers to send his voice.

"I told you that isn't happening." Gray said. Gray looked ahead and saw a faint light coming through a small window through a door. "There you are." Gray ran towards the door and it slid open. "I found you!" He thought he did, but there was no one in sight. "Darn it." Gray did notice that a screen was on. Gray walked over to it and that's where he found his friends. "There they are, but where are they?"

"In less trouble than you are." Gray could hear the person he was looking for right behind him. However, he didn't get the chance to see who it was. He was grabbed by the back of the head and pushed him to the floor. He grabbed his arm and held it behind Gray. Gray appears to be in a lot of trouble now. "I warned you that you should have just left.


	8. Which Witch

"You were a fool to come here." Gray was able to find the room the mastermind behind all of this was hiding in. However, the mystery man had Gray held down as he pressed his head against the floor and held his arm behind Gray. "You should have left when I told you. I'll still give you the chance."

"Not happening." Gray said. He tried to look at him, but Gray couldn't even see him.

"Master!"

"Zareen?" The mystery man said as a woman dressed as a witch came down on a broom.

"I'm afraid I have some bad news. Sten has been defeated and now the door to that jungle is open." Zareen said. "He almost had two of the dragons, but they were still able to beat him."

"Intercept them. There's still one dragon left to be faced. Take care of that one." The mystery man said.

"As you wish." Zareen said as she flew up through the ceiling and left Gray all alone with whoever was doing all of this.

….

Gajeel and Rogue

"Should we go in?" Rogue said. He and Gajeel were able to work together and win their duel and faced with the exit. "I think we should wait for the others."

"I don't even know where we are in this crazy forest. They could be heading away from us." Gajeel said. "We can't just sit around and wait. We should try and find them, but how?" Both of them were trying to figure out what to do, but they heard screaming and it was coming in their directions from the trees.

"What is that?" Rogue asked.

"Sounds like some trouble. Let's get ready." Gajeel said as the two of them raced over the bridge and got ready to face whatever was coming their way. They were surprised to see it was just Wendy running and screaming in their direction and wasn't watching where she was going. "Wendy? Wendy, wait." Wendy wasn't listening. So when she passed by, Gajeel grabbed her by the back and lifted her, but she kept screaming. "Shut it!"

"Wendy, it's just us!" Rogue said. Wendy calmed down and finally noticed both of them.

"Oh! Gajeel! Rogue!" Wendy said. "I'm sorry. I just got scared and just kept running. This place is a little scary."

"It's okay. What are you doing by yourself? Where's everyone else?" Rogue asked.

"They're not behind me?" Wendy said. She looked and noticed they were gone. "Oh no. I must have gotten separated from them myself."

"Okay. They have to be out there. I'll go find them. You two wait here until we get here." Gajeel said.

"Be careful." Rogue said and Gajeel ran off.

"I hope he'll be okay on his own." Wendy said.

"He'll be fine." Rogue said.

"You should be more concerned with yourselves." They heard a voice and some creepy laughing coming from the door. A dark hand came out of it and grabbed a hold of Wendy and pulled her in.

"Wendy!" Rogue raced to help her, but bars closed down and cut the two of them off. "Hey!" Wendy was dropped on the floor. When she looked up, she was faced Zareen."

"Hello, my dear." Zareen said.

"Who are you?" Wendy said.

"My name is Zareen. With of the night."

"Not another creep." Rogue said.

"Lucky me. My opponent is a cute little girl." Zareen said.

"Opponent?" Wendy questioned.

"That's right, little girl. You're the only dragon left to duel at least once." Zareen said as she hopped off her broom. "That means you and I must face each other. Besides, if you and your friends want to go any further, you'll have to beat me."

"Wendy, this could be a trap." Rogue warned.

"If you want to help your friends, this is the only way." Zareen said and Wendy could see she had a point.

"Okay. I'm not scared. Bring it on." Wendy said. Both of them activated their duel disks and they were both ready to go.

"Let's duel!" Both said and now had 4000LP.

"I'll make the first move." Zareen said. "I'll start by summoning Wind Witch of Hexes." A green witch flew on a broom and had 1400atk points. "Next, her special ability, like the flowing wind controlling gliding birds, allows me to summon another Witch of Hexes. I summon Fire Witch of Hexes." A red witch flew on the field and had 1200atk points. "Her special ability burns you for 400 points of damage when she's special summoned." Fire Witch shot a fireball and hit Wendy with her life points dropping to 3600. "I'm also going to activate my Brewing Potion continuous spell. This spell will give my spellcasters 200atk points each standby phase. I think that's enough for this turn with this." She added a facedown and ended her turn.

"My turn!" Wendy said as she drew her card.

"Now my witches gain attack points." Zareen said as her witches power went to 1600 and 1400. "One more thing I should mention. When Fire Witch gains attack points, you take damage equal to that amount." She shot some fireballs and blasted Wendy with her life points dropping 3400.

"Hang in there, Wendy." Rogue said.

"I'll be fine. If you guys can fight, so can I." Wendy said.

"That's right, Wendy." Wendy looked down and spotted her Gladio card. "Believe in yourself and you can do this."

"I will." Wendy said. "I summon my Grand Sky Wyvern!" A green wyvern flew out on the field with it having 1800atk points.

"Not bad, but not good. I activate my Witch's Enchantment trap. This gives one of my witches an extra 1000atk points. I think I'll give them to my Fire Witch." Zareen said and her points went to 2400. "Don't forget that you'll be taking some damage as well."

"No I won't. Grand Sky Wyvern prevents me from taking any damage outside of battle." Wendy said. "I'm also going to activate my Arms Enchant. This spell will give my wyvern 1000atk points and he can't be destroyed until the end of the turn. Grand Sky Wyvern, attack with **Draco Whirlwind**!" Her wyvern beat its wings and created a powerful whirlwind that destroyed Fire Witch and Zareen's life points dropped to 3600. "I end my turn. Now that it is, my Wyvern's attack points return to normal." Wyvern's power returned to normal and it was Zareen's turn.

"Not bad for a young child. That doesn't mean you'll win." Zareen said. "I draw! Wind Witch also gains 200atk points." Her Wind Witch's attack points went up again to 1800. "I summon Earth Witch of Hexes." Another witch dressed in orange came out with 1000atk points. "I activate Earth Witch's ability. Just as the earth breaks and lose ground, your monster lose 500atk points." Her witch caused rocks to slam against Wendy's wyvern and its power dropped to 1300.

"Oh no." Wendy said.

"Oh no is right. Wind Witch, take out her Grand Sky Wyvern!" Zareen said. Her witch created a powerful gust of wind and blasted Wendy with her life points dropping to 3100. "Earth Witch, it's your turn. Strike her directly!" Her second with attacked by releasing a shockwave through the ground and blasted Wendy with her getting knocked off her feet and her life points dropped to 2100.

"Hang in there, Wendy." Rogue said.

"Rogue!" Rogue looked behind him and saw Gajeel came back with the others. "I managed to find everyone. Where's Wendy? I told both of you to wait."

"She's in there and in trouble." Rogue said. Everyone hurried to the door and saw the duel going on.

"Wendy! Are you okay?" Natsu said.

"Yeah. I'm okay." Wendy said as she stood back up.

"Why lie? You'll be finished soon." Zareen said.

"This duel isn't over. I draw!" Wendy said. She drew a trap, but not what she was hoping for. 'Where are they? I have an idea to finish this, but I need two certain cards to do it.' She thought. She needs some certain cards and needs to hang in there until she can get them. "I summon Sky Guardian in defense mode." A green bird raptor came on the field and had 1900def points. "I'm also going to activate Mirroring Counter. This spell allows me to use my monster's defense points as attack points."

"You mean you can attack even if your monster is in defense mode?" Zareen said.

"That's right. My Sky Guardian might be trapped in defense mode once this ability is used, but that's just fine." Wendy said. "Sky Guardian, attack now!" Her bird unleashed a powerful gust of wind that blasted Earth Witch and destroyed her with Zareen's life points dropping to 2400. "I place one card facedown to end my turn."

"Wendy's doing good. Their points are just about even." Rogue said.

"She's got this." Erza said.

"My turn." Zareen said. "Since it's my standby phase, Wind Witch gains more power." Wind Witch's attack points went up to 1800.

"In that case, I'll activate my Wind Enhancement trap." Wendy said. "This causes the attack points of a wind monster to double. I'm using it on Wind Witch."

"My monster?" Zareen questioned. Power was given to Wind Witch and her attack points went to 3600. "Why would you do that?"

"Wind Witch's attack points might have doubled, but that also means your monster can't attack." Wendy said and Zareen wasn't expecting that. "Not that it would have mattered. Sky Guardian can only be destroyed by a level six of higher monster. Even if you attack, I'll gain life points equal to your monster's attack points."

"Hold on. Why would Wendy increase her opponent's power when she could have been foolish enough to attack?" Sting said.

"Wendy never was one to take advantage of another's mistake." Erza said. "However, I think she has another reason for using that trap."

"If Wind Witch can't attack, that's fine. I'll just have to sacrifice it." Zareen said. "I offer my Wind Witch so that I can tribute summon Dark Witch of Hexes!" She traded away one witch for another in purple clothing and had a dark aura around her and had 2200atk points. "And thanks to her special ability, I can negate your monster's special ability. Go, **Sealing Hex**!" Her witch unleashed a blast of dark magic and used it on Sky Guardian with it losing color.

"Oh no!" Wendy said.

"Oh no is right." Zaneer said. "Dark Witch, attack her Sky Guardian with **Black Magic Demise**!" Her witch had energy spiral in front of her and released it. Wendy's monster got caught in the blast and was destroyed with Wendy not getting a power boost. "One last thing is that you're dealt 900 points of damage when she destroys a monster." Wendy got hit by some of the magic and her life points dropped to 1200. "That's enough for now."

"Come on, Wendy." Lucy said.

"She'll be fine." Natsu said as he fully believed in her. "Wendy's not the same. She's a lot braver and more confident in herself. She'll be fine."

"It's my turn." Wendy said as she got ready to draw. "Wind Enhancement has one last ability. Instead of drawing one card, I can draw two. Here goes. I draw!" She drew her two cards and they were just the ones she needed. "Perfect. It's time for a new kind of summoning."

"New kind?!" Zaneer said.

"That's right. A close friend of mine taught me this kind of summoning." Wendy said. "I set the pendulum scale with scale one Sky Wicca and scale eight Air Wicca." Two identical looking girls rose up in pillars with a one and eight. Sky Wicca had long blue hair and wore a white dress with a blue top. Air Wicca had turquoise hair and wore a white dress with a bonnet. "I can now summon monsters from levels two to seven at once. I pendulum summon!" A rift open and two monsters came out of it. "Gladio the Sky Warrior and Sky Maiden." Gladio was an armored warrior with wings that had 1700atk points and a girl with blue hair and white wings with 200atk points.

"When did Wendy learn to do that?" Laxus said.

"From Chelia from Lamia Scale." Erza said. "The two of them became great friends when the tournament ended."

"Impressive, but my witch is still stronger. Don't forget that during your standby phase, she grew stronger." Zaneer said with her witch's attack points 2400.

"I know. That's why I'm using Gladio's ability. All wind attribute monsters gain 1000atk points." Wendy said. Gladio pulled out his sword and gathered power with it rising to 2700. "I'm also going to activate Grand Sky Wyvern's ability. When he's in my graveyard, one monster gains 1000atk points." Gladio gained more power and his power went to 3700. "I'm also going to use Sky Wicca's pendulum ability. She gives one monster 500atk points for every wind monster on the field." Gladio gained more power and had 4700atk points with a bright green aura around him.

"He keeps getting stronger and stronger!" Lucy said.

"Over 4000atk points? Impressive, but I'll still have enough life points to survive." Zaneer said.

"No you won't. Air Wicca's pendulum ability takes a card from my graveyard and add it to my hand." Wendy said as she took it. "The one I choose is Arms Enchant. That's another 1000atk points."

"Oh no!" Zaneer said as Gladio's points rose to 5700.

"Gladio, strike her down! **Hurricane Gale Force**!" Wendy said. Gladio drew all the power into his sword and gave it a powerful slash. It obliterated Dark Witch and knocked back Zaneer with all of her life points dropping to zero and Wendy winning.

….

Gray

"Looks like Zaneer lost. At least I got some data on all seven dragons." The mystery man said as he watched on his monitor while he held Gray down. Gray used this opportunity as he was distracted. Gray tossed all his weight into a kick and was able to knock the man off him. Gray got up and grab his arm with him tossing him into the wall.

"Enough hiding. Step into the light and quit hiding like a coward." Gray said. The man stepped forward like Gray said, but Gray couldn't believe what was in front of him. "No! That's impossible. Dad?!"


	9. Father and Son Duel Pt1

Gray couldn't believe his eyes. The man standing before him wore armor with a white cape and gloves with him also having black hair. This man was actually his own father.

"Dad?" Gray said.

"What's the matter? No hug for your old man? It's me, Gray. Silver Fullbuster, your father."

"Liar!" Gray said as he refused to believe it. "There's no way you're my father. He passed away years ago. He also wouldn't have done the things you have. He was a good man. So tell me who you really are and drop the disguise."

"That hurts, but I have no time for this right now." Silver said. "It looks like I lost all my minions. So I'll have to deal with the seven of them personally. I'll have to leave now." Silver ran for it and pushed Gray out of the way and made his way out.

"Get back here!" Gray shouted as he hurried after him.

…

The Others

Wendy was successful in her duel against Zaneer. When she won, the bars that held Natsu and the others back opened up and they all hurried inside.

"Nice going, Wendy. You've really stepped up your game." Natsu said.

"Thanks Natsu. It looks like we're all back together. All of us except for Gray." Wendy said. "I really hope he's okay." Everyone was hoping the same thing, but they heard Zaneer laughing.

"Are you talking about that boy? You're too late. We already got him." Zaneer said before she turned to dust with her still laughing.

"They already got Gray?" Lucy said.

"We don't know that. She could just be pulling our leg." Erik said.

"It doesn't matter. We need to get going and find Gray. Come on." Erza said as she took the lead and everyone followed her. Everyone went to the next room and saw it was a giant spiral.

"Great. At least we're getting our cardio in." Sting said. "How many floors does this place have?"

"As many as we need to check." Rogue said.

"Hold it!" They looked up a few floors and spotted Gray chasing Silver.

"It's Gray!" Lucy said.

"Who is he chasing?" Gajeel said.

"Let's go find out." Natsu said. With no time to spare, all of them started climbing the stairs to catch up with Gray. Gray continued to chase after who he believed was an imposter of his father. Gray chased after him and reached a landing spot for helicopters with Silver on the other side.

"Finally decided to stop running?" Gray said.

"Sort of. Your friends saw us and we're going to need a great stage for a duel." Silver said. "I plan to duel one of the dragons and see for myself what they're capable of."

"Gray!" Gray looked back and saw his friends were able to catch up with them and stood on the platform.

"So you found the guy who is behind all this." Laxus said.

"Good. He owes us some explanations." Sting said. "Who are you and why have you been sending monsters and ghouls after us?"

"Don't worry. You'll get your answers soon enough." Silver said. "First, let's have a change of scenery." He pulled out a switch and used it. It started to raise the platform they were all on. All of them were careful as it moved up. The ceiling opened up and they were back outside. The platform continue to rise and it was about twenty stories high.

"This isn't discrete." Erza said with some sarcasm.

"Now there's nowhere to run." Silver said. "When I duel one of you, you'll have to accept if you want to get down."

"You want to duel? Bring it on." Natsu said as he was ready to take action, but Lucy held out her arm to keep him back.

"Nobody's dueling until we get answers. At least tell us who you are." Lucy said.

"Very well. My name is Silver. Silver….Fullbuster. I'm Gray's father." Hearing his last name and his affiliation was certainly a shock to all of them.

"Gray? That's your father?" Natsu said. "Why is your daddy doing this to us?"

"He's not my father! He's an imposter!" Gray said. "My real father passed away after an accident when I was just a kid. You can't be him. Especially since my father was a good man. He would never put my friends in danger and he wouldn't have done the things you've done. Sending a vampire to kidnap Lucy? Trapping my friends? My father would never do something like that! I'm warning you, the more you pretend to be him, the angrier I get." Right now, Gray is filled with a lot of fury. "Tell the truth! Who are you?!"

"I'll deal with you later. Right now, I have business with the dragons." Silver said as he continued to tell Gray what he wants. Silver held out his arm and a duel disk appearing to be made from ice appeared on it. "So what do you say? Which one of you wants to be first?"

"I'll take you on!" Natsu said.

"No. I'll do it!" Gajeel said.

"Right here!" Sting said.

"Hold it!" Gray shouted. "This man, whoever he is, is mine! If anyone is going to beat this man pretending to be my father, it's going to be me!" Gray activated his duel disk and was ready. "All of you just stay out of this!"

"This has nothing to do with you. You don't hold one of the dragons." Silver said.

"Shut your trap and duel me!" Gray said. "I'm not going to give you a choice!" Silver can see that Gray was fully set on doing this and he knows what Gray is like.

"Very well. If it will get you to settle down. What's one duel before I face my true targets?" Silver said and the two of them were ready to face each other.

"Let's duel!" A father and son duel was about to start with them having 4000LP.

"I'm worried. Are we really going to let Gray do this?" Lucy said.

"Yeah. Maybe we should help." Rogue said.

"No. This is Gray's duel. If this guy really is pretending to be his father, he deserves to be the one to take him down." Natsu said.

"I'll make the first move. I draw." Silver said and was quite pleased with what he had. "I activate the field spell known as Absolute Zero Zone." The entire area changed as it was incased in ice and was completely freezing.

"Woo! It's cold!" Sting said.

"Not even the warmest clothes can help." Silver said. "This spell will cause monsters that aren't the dark attribute to lose 500atk points at the end of each turn. Once a monster's attack points reach zero, it's automatically destroyed."

"They are? That's not good. Most of Gray's monsters are water attributed." Lucy said.

"That isn't going to stop me." Gray said.

"We'll see. I now summon my Black Icer to the field in defense mode." Silver said. A creature covered with chunks of black ice came on the field with 1100def points. "I place one card facedown to end my turn. Since Black Icer is a dark attribute, it's unaffected by my own field spell."

"My turn!" Gray said and drew his card. "I summon Ice-Make: Lancer!" Gray called out his knight-like warrior with its lances and 1400atk points. "Take out his Black Icer!" His warrior charged and pierced Black Icer with it destroyed.

"Gray, have you forgotten all the times we dueled together?" Silver said. "You seem to have forgotten that when Black Icer is destroyed, you take 500 points of damage!" A gust of black snow slammed against him and Gray now has 3500LP. "After that, another Black Icer appears in my hand. I got you with that one multiple times and you still haven't found a way to prevent it." He said as he took one from his deck.

"I'm not letting that stop me. I place three card facedown and end my turn." Gray said. 'He might look like my father and have cards similar to him, but he can't be him. He can't.' Gray thought as he refused to believe that.

"Since we reached the end of your turn, your Lancer loses 500atk points since it's a water attribute." Silver said. The coldness of the area around them affected Gray's monster with frost ice forming around it and its attack points dropping to 900.

"Oh man. His monsters are going to get a serious case of frostbite." Sting said.

"My turn." Silver said. "I activate my Trade Away spell. By sending one card in my hand to the graveyard, I can take any card I want from my deck and place it in my hand." He discarded Black Icer and was looking through his deck. "I think this one will do." He took a trap and had something planned. "Next, I summon my Absolute Zero Bear." A bear with some chunks of ice in its fur came up with 1600atk points.

"That is one bear I wouldn't want to mess with." Wendy said.

"I think I'll have my Absolute Zero Bear take out your Lancer!" Silver said as his bear charged and was about to go wild on him.

"Not so fast. I'm activating my Ice Unlimited trap card." Gray said. "This trap doubles the attack points of one of my Ice-Make monsters." Gray's lancer gained power and his attack points went to 1800.

"It's stronger than Silver's bear!" Gajeel said as they thought he was good.

"I'll activate a trap of my own. I activate Impenetrable Ice. This trap card prevents my Absolute Zero monsters from being destroyed." Gray's monster was able to deflect Silver's bear, but it wasn't destroyed. Silver's life points still went down to 3800.

"At least he still lost some life points." Lucy said.

"May not have been much, but every little bit counts." Sting said.

"Yeah, but taking out his monsters is only getting harder and harder." Laxus said.

"Erza, do you really think that's Gray's father?" Natsu asked.

"I don't want to believe it, but I'm not really sure." Erza said.

"Anything else you like to try?" Gray asked.

"No. Since we've reached the end of the battle phase, your trap's effects are done." Silver said as Gray's warrior lost its power boost and now back to 900. "We've also reached the end of this turn. That means your little warrior loses another 500atk points." His lancer grew colder and weaker as his attack points dropped to a mere 400.

"That isn't stopping me. The cold doesn't bother me and it certainly doesn't bother my monsters." Gray said as he wasn't going to quit fighting, but Silver wasn't worried. Everyone kept their eyes on the duel, but Erik was thinking of some other things.

'Something weird is going on. There's just something about this that doesn't seem right.' Erik thought as he tried to put the puzzle pieces together.

'Oh Gray. If only you knew what I had in my hand and had planned.' Silver thought. 'I'm hoping I don't have to use this on you, but I might be left with no choice.' Gray's doing the best he can, but his minds are filled with thoughts about his father. He doesn't believe that's really him, but he's having his doubts. If that is his father, he doesn't understand how any of this is even possible.

"I can't lose. I have to win this. I have to learn the truth!" Gray said.

To Be Continued…


	10. Father and Son Duel Pt2

The lab was abandon since Silver and his monster minions were the only ones there. All his minions were defeated and Silver is currently in the duel. No one should be in there….at least that's what people would believe. A purple light emitted from the room and someone walked in. He saw the duel happening on a monitor.

"So Silver is dueling. This should be interesting to say the least.

…

The Duel

Gray was in denial that he was dueling his father. It just made no sense to him. Gray at the moment had two face-downs with 3500LP and had Ice-Make: Lancer. However, his warrior only had 400atk points because of Silver's field spell, Absolute Zero Zone. Silver had 3800LP with him having Absolute Zero Bear at 1600atk points and an activate trap called Impenetrable Ice.

"Come on, Gray. It's your turn. Not that there doesn't appear to be much you can do." Silver said.

"We'll see!" Gray said and drew a card. "I summon my Ice-Make: Scythe to the field." He summoned out another warrior wielding a scythe with him having 1700atk points. "I'm also going to activate my Ice Floor trap. This allows one my Ice-Make monster to slip past your defenses. Since Lancer has so few attack points, I'll use him." Ice-Make Lance moved around Silver's field and struck him with his life points dropping to 3400. "I'm also going to have Scythe attack your Absolute Zero Bear!"

"But my Impenetrable Ice won't allow it to be destroyed." Silver said.

"Perhaps, but you're still taking damage." Gray said. Scythe slashed against the bear and Silver's life points dropped to 3300, but his bear survived. "I'm also going to activate my Urgent Provisions. By sending a spell or trap card on the field to the graveyard, I can draw two cards. I'll have to get rid of my Ice Chunks trap." He got rid of his own trap and drew two more cards. "That ends my turn."

"Since we reached the end of your turn, your monsters lose more attack points." Silver said. "Since your lancer is about to reach zero, it's instantly destroyed." Both of his monsters grew weaker with Scythe's attack points reaching 1200. When Lancer reached zero, he was completely frozen and destroyed.

"Talk about getting the cold shoulder." Sting said.

"This is bad. Gray won't be able to hold out if his monsters get destroyed like that." Erza said. "He's got to lift this field spell somehow."

"It's fine because now Ice-Make: Scythe's ability activates." Gray said. "When it's the end phase and his attack points change, you take damage equal to the change." His warrior slashed the air and released the attack with it hitting Silver and he now has 2800LP.

"Yes. Gray turned it to his advantage." Lucy said.

"Yeah, but I don't think that guy is just going to let that keep happening." Natsu said.

"My turn." Silver said and drew his next card. "I don't want to use this on you, but it seems like I have to. I summon Zero Synchron." He summoned out a mechanical robot with a zero for a head with blue eyes and had 1300atk points.

"That's a tuner!" Gray said. "That can only mean one thing!"

"That's right. I'm bringing out my ace." Silver said. "Level three Zero Synchron, tune with level four Absolute Zero Bear." His synchron became three green circles and came around the bear. "Ice sheer cold, awake one that reaps lives." The bear turned to four stars and a beam shot through. "I synchro summon Absolute Zero Demon!" He summoned a blue devil with a trident and had black wings with a black tunic and boots. It also had 2800atk points.

"I've never even seen that card before!" Laxus said.

"What is that thing?!" Natsu said.

"It's my best monster. Something I should mention." Silver said. "As long as he is on the field, you can't destroy any other card on the field."

"He can't destroy anything else?!" Wendy said.

"No problem. He just needs to destroy that demon first." Natsu said.

"Wrong, Natsu. His Impenetrable Ice trap prevents Gray from destroying his Absolute Zero monsters." Lucy said. "With those two cards on the field, Gray can't destroy anything."

"There's more. When he attacks, that monster will lose 500atk points." Silver said. "Show him. Attack Ice-Make: Scythe with **Ice Rage**!" Absolute Zero Demon fired a cold beam from his trident and Gray's monster lost 500 more attack points and now had 700. Scythe got blasted and Gray got hit hard by the attack as his life points dropped to 1400. Gray dropped to his knees and was shivering from the cold.

"Gray, are you okay?!" Natsu said.

"This feeling…" Gray said. "I know this feeling. A feeling of frustration, but also excitement. There's only one person that can make me feel this way." Gray knew that, but was hurt. "It really is you. Isn't it, Dad?"

"So you finally admit it. Yes, Gray. It's really me." Silver said.

"But why, Dad? I don't understand. How is this possible? I don't understand any of this." Gray said.

"I like to know a few things myself because things don't make sense." Erik said and everyone turned to him. "Somethings here don't make much sense, but I think I might have something. I might not look like it, but I'm a pretty good listener. I've listened to everything you two have been saying. If what everything you and Gray are true, that has me believe one thing. You're really working with someone, aren't you? Maybe you're working FOR someone. Fess up! Tell the truth! Who are you working for?!"

"Working for someone? You mean he's just following someone's orders?" Gray questioned for that would make sense to him.

"Very well. I'll tell you." Silver said. "It all started years ago. Gray was right. I actually parted from this world long ago."

"You did? Does that mean you're a ghost or a zombie? That's so cool!" Natsu said.

"No it's not!" Lucy shouted.

"How did this happen to you?" Wendy asked.

"I was coming home from work one winter night." Silver said as he remembered it like it was yesterday as snow was coming down on his way home until something came at him. "Suddenly, a truck slid out of control and I crashed right into it. When I regained my senses, I was surrounded by darkness. I thought it was the afterlife, but I was wrong. Somebody actually brought me back." Silver remembered being face with a group of people, but he knew it was trouble. "They weren't friendly people. To bring me back, they used dark magic. Black magic. The kind of magic that a necromancer could use."

"A necromancer?!" Gray said.

"That's right. I had to do what they wanted and all they do, they do for some powerful dark being." Silver said. "One that will bring an age of despair. There is a darker power out there that you all don't know about."

'I wonder if that's what Jellal has been trying to find.' Erik thought.

"But why you, Dad? Why out of everyone they could have chosen, they chose you?" Gray asked.

"There really is no real reason I was chosen, Gray." Silver said. "It was just out of dumb luck that I was the one they brought back. Gray, I tried to warn you to stay out of this. I have to do this, I don't have much of a choice. I don't want to hurt you. So just give up this duel."

"No way." Gray said as he managed to get back on his feet. "I'm not giving up. I can't let you do this if you're after my friends. A member of Fairy Tail never gives up. Even if you are my father, I'm going to keep dueling."

"And just how do you plan on doing that?" Silver said.

"Let's find out." Gray said as he wants to see this through to the end.

"Very well. It's your move as I place these two cards facedown." Silver said. 'Gray, I don't want to use this against you, but I have to give this duel everything.'

"Here goes!" Gray said and drew his next card.

"Does Gray even know what he's doing anymore?" Gajeel said.

"He's determined to finish this and there's nothing we can really do about it." Laxus said.

"Here we go. I summon my Hail Maker in attack mode." Gray said. He summoned a machine with a showerhead and had a metal snake body and wings. It also had 1700atk points. "I now activate Hail Maker's special ability. If I have him lose 400atk points. I get a hail token, but I think I'll do that two times." He lowered his monster's attack points to 900 and two clouds with hail coming out of it came on the field with 100atk points each. "Now I tune my level four Hail Maker with my level one tokens. You're not the only one who can synchro summon."

"So bring it on." Silver said.

"I will!" Gray said as his Hail Maker became four rings and came around his two tokens and each turned to a star. A beam shot through and smashed through the ground. "I synchro summon Ice-Make: Geyser!" Water and ice shot out of the ground as a geyser and a man with blue skin emerged at the top with 2300atk points.

"So you've learned how to synchro summon. I can't wait to see what else you can do." Silver said.

"How about this?!" Gray said. "I activate my Riryoku spell. Now half of the attack points of your demon are added to Geyser." Energy was being transferred from Silver's demon to Geyser and their attack points changed to 3700 and 1400. "I activate Ice-Make: Geyser's ability. By banishing one of my ice monsters, your monster lose attack points equal to that monster's attack points. So I'll banish my Ice-Make: Lancer. That means your monster loses 1400atk points." Water splashed on the demon and his attack points dropped by half. "Geyser, attack his Absolute Zero Demon with **Cold Eruption**!"

"If this works, Gray will win!" Sting said as they all thought he had it.

"Not so fast. I activate Zero Synchron's ability!" Silver said. "When the synchro monster that was summoned from him is being attacked, I can banish Zero Synchron and the damage is cut in half." Gray's monster caused ice and water to erupt under Absolute Zero Demon and it caused some damage to Silver, but the damage was weakened as his life points dropped to 1300.

"That's good. That demon might not be destroyed, but at least he can still deal some damage." Rogue said.

"That ends my turn as I also place one card facedown." Gray said. "I also know, since we reached the end of this turn, my Ice-Make: Geyser loses another 500atk points." His monster grew weaker as his attack points dropped to 1800.

"Yes and my monster's attack points return to normal." Silver said as his demon was back to full power.

"Oh man. Gray almost had him." Natsu said.

"He still has a chance." Erza said.

"My turn!" Silver said and drew his next card, but he saw it was a spell and a very powerful one. "I think it's time I ended this. I didn't want to do this, but I must. Absolute Zero Demon, attack Ice-Make: Geyser and strike away 500atk points."

"Oh no! If this works, Gray will lose!" Wendy said. Absolute Zero Demon unleashed the attack and it seemed like the end as Geyser took the attack and his attack points dropped to 1200.

"I activate Tribute for Restore!" Gray said. "When my monster is destroyed, I gain life points equal to its attack points and I take no damage!" Gray's monster was destroyed, but his life points increased to 2600.

"So you held on. That was a mistake, Gray." Silver said. "I was hoping to end this here and now, but now I'm left with no other choice."

"What are you talking about?" Gray said.

"It sounds like he has a powerful card." Rogue said.

"You can say that." Silver said and looked to Natsu. "You better get ready, Natsu. When this duel is over, there is someone who would like to meet you."

"Me?" Natsu questioned. As this duel progressed, more and more secrets are being revealed. A dark presence is watching over them and is looking at Natsu.

"Natsu…. We'll see each other soon enough."

'Who could he be talking about?' Natsu questioned for he didn't know that dark force was watching him and it will change everything.

To Be Continued…


	11. Father and Son Duel Pt3

The duel between Silver and Gray is about to come to an end. Gray's been holding on even with his monster's being drained of attack points, but for how much longer can he? Gray still has 2600LP while Silver has 1300, but Gray's field is empty. Silver has two face-downs with his Impenetrable Ice and his Absolute Zero Zone. He also has Absolute Zero Demon with 2800atk points, but his combo prevents Gray from destroying anything.

"I didn't want to use this on you Gray, but I have to end this duel." Silver said.

"Use what?" Gray said.

"You're about to see. First, I need to activate my two traps. I activate Absolute Freeze and Zero Temp." Silver said. "I can activate these two only when Absolute Zero Zone is in play."

"So what do they do?" Gray said.

"They are the keys so that I can activate this powerful spell card." Silver said. "It's the card my deck originated from."

"What is it?" Natsu said.

"We're about to find out." Erik said.

"I activate Absolute Zero!" Silver said as all of them could feel the air around them getting colder. "This spell card can only activate when I have Absolute Zero Zone, Absolute Freeze, Zero Temp on the field. When it's done, you only get three turns. After that, if I still have life points, you automatically lose."

"What?!" Gray said.

"That's right, Gray. This duel is about to reach its end." Silver said.

"So if Gray doesn't take out all of this guy's life points in three turns, he loses?" Wendy said.

"Sounds like it." Erza said. "However, it sounds like that if Gray can destroy just one of those cards, his whole plan is ruined."

"That shouldn't be too hard." Natsu said.

"Don't you pay attention?" Rogue said.

"Absolute Zero Demon's ability prevents any card from being destroyed. So Gray has to destroy that monster first." Erza said. "However, Impenetrable Ice prevents his monsters from being destroyed. Silver has put up an unbreakable wall so his combo is guaranteed to work."

"That won't stop me." Gray said.

"By all means, try and stop it. I wish for this duel to end so you don't have to suffer from this card." Silver said. "In fact, I'll try to end this duel as quickly myself. Go on, son. It's your turn now."

"Here I go!" Gray said as he drew his next card. "I summon my Ice-Make: Grappling Hook." He summoned another warrior with hooks and chains made of ice and had 900def points. "Grappling Hook has three abilities. I can draw a card, bring back one of my monsters, or summon another one of him. I can only use one once a turn. I think I'll go with the one where I can summon another Ice-Make: Grappling Hook from my deck." He summoned out another one in defense mode. "Now I use his special ability. I can summon a monster from my graveyard and I choose Ice-Make: Scythe." His warrior came back with it at 1700atk points.

"You keep making them suffer in the cold?" Silver said.

"They can handle it. I activate Ice Refreshment." Gray said. "This spell gives me 300LP for each of my monsters." His life points went up to 3500.

"It's great that Gray is almost back to full power, but all those life points won't do him any good once that spell kicks in." Sting said.

"I hope he knows what he's doing." Laxus said.

"That ends my turn, but once Scythe's attack points drop, you'll be taking damage." Gray said. His warrior's attack points dropped, but that did some damage to Silver as his life points dropped to 800.

"But your other two only have 400atk points. That means they're destroyed." Silver said. Both of his other monsters froze and shattered.

"At least he dealt some damage." Wendy said.

"But not enough." Lucy said.

"My turn." Silver said as he drew his next card. "Go, my powerful monster. Attack! Strike away 500atk points and use **Ice Rage**!" His demon unleashed a powerful blast of ice with Gray's warrior's attack points dropping to 700 and blasted him. Gray really felt the cold on that one as his life points dropped to 1400. "I end my turn."

"Come on, Gray. You can still turn this around." Wendy said.

"He just needs to deal enough damage to do it." Sting said. "I just hope he can pull it off."

"My turn." Gray said, but things were looking bad. "I summon Ice-Make: Shield in defense mode." A warrior holding a flower shield came up with 2000def points. "Next, I activate the equip spell known as Persona Altercation. This takes half of the defense points of my monster and adds them to his attack points." His warrior gained some power as his attack points rose to 1100, but half of his defense points dropped to 1000. "I end my turn."

"A desperate move." Silver said. "Especially since your warrior is just going to lose some power." His warrior's attack points dropped to 600.

'That's all I could do. No I have nothing left in my hand.' Gray thought as things were looking dire.

"You wasted your turn, but I won't waste mine!" Silver said as he drew his next card. "Absolute Zero Demon, attack!" His demon unleashed another blast of ice.

"I activate his ability. I give up 1000def points of his and he survives." Gray said. His warrior tried to block the attack, but now he has no defense points.

"I anticipated that. So I'm using Vengeful Strike." Silver said. "This allows me to attack with the same monster at the same target. This time, no matter what you do, you can't stop it. Attack!" His demon attacked again and this time it worked. Gray's monster was destroyed and he was left with nothing. "That ends my turn and that means this is your last chance. You have one turn left before Absolute Zero finishes you."

"I can still win." Gray said.

"How do you plan on doing that?" Silver said. "You have nothing in your hand and not on your field. Gray, I really don't want you to suffer like this, but there seems to be no choice. I just don't see how you can win." Gray was having doubts as well as he dropped to his knees and the cold was really getting to him.

"Maybe your right." Gray said. None of his friends could believe he was really giving up. "I don't think I have what it takes to finish this. Even if I do, I don't think I could bring myself to finish this. If I win, what will happen to you, Dad? I could lose you again. I don't think I can go through with it."

"That's because you're a good person, Gray." Silver said. Gray was ready to actually give up.

"No!" Natsu shouted. "Gray, you can't give up! You have to keep dueling! One draw can turn the whole duel around!"

"But I could lose my father again. I can't do that." Gray said.

"No! You could save him! You could free him!" Natsu said.

"Save him?" Gray said.

"From what I got, your father was brought back by some bad people and they're forcing him to do some bad things." Natsu said. "If you win, you could free his spirit! He won't have to suffer anymore! So get up and win this! You still have one turn!" Gray's hope was being revived as he managed to get back up.

"Natsu's right. Dad's doing stuff he doesn't want to, but perhaps beating him will save him. That I can do." Gray said and looked down at his deck. "It all comes down to what I draw. Here goes!" Gray drew his card and everyone was hoping for the best. "I activate Glorious Aurora!"

"Glorious Auora?" Silver said.

"It takes three water attribute monsters in my graveyard and adds them to my deck." Gray said as he took back both Grappling Hooks and Scythe. He placed them back in and his deck shuffled "That's not all. Since I have no cards in my hand, Glorious Aurora allows me to draw for every card you have on the field."

"Silver's got six cards. That means he can draw six cards!" Lucy said. Gray drew his cards and saw what to do.

"Look at that. One of the cards I drew was one of my favorites: Ice Maker!" Gray said and summoned a walking ice chamber with 1000atk points. "Thanks to its special ability, I can also bring back my Ice-Make: Shield to the field." His warrior came back with it in defense mode. "Here we go! I tune level two Ice Maker with level three Ice-Make: Shield!" Ice Maker turned into two rings and came around his warrior with a beam shooting through. "I synchro summon Ice-Make: Vambrace!" Gray called out a new warrior with ice around his right arm to have it much longer. It also had 1900atk points.

"How is that monster going to help?" Silver asked.

"His special ability will! If I send a card in my hand to the graveyard, your monster loses 1000atk points!" Gray said as he discarded one card. His monster toss a piece of ice and it hit Silver's demon with its attack points dropping to 1800. "Why stop there? I can discard two more and take all of your monster's attack points." His monster tossed two more pieces of ice and Absolute Zero Demon lost all power.

"No way! He lost all power!" Silver said.

"Vambrace, attack! **Frozen Slammer**!" Gray shouted. His monster gathered cold energy around his hand and tossed it hard with it hitting Absolute Zero Demon. The force knocked Silver down and took out the last of his life points.

"He did it!" Natsu said as they were all happy Gray turned it all around.

"Nice work, boy." Silver said as the field returned to normal.

"Dad!" Gray called as he raced over towards him, but he was cut off by a dark light that emerged between them. The light formed a person and Silver sat up to face him.

"You lost, Silver."

"You!" Silver said.

"Though, you did what you were suppose to do. You served us all well, but it's time now for you to rest in peace." The mystery man grabbed Silver by his face and emitted a strong light.

"Dad! What are you doing to him?!" Gray said.

"Gray…" Silver used the last bit of strength and reached for a card. "Take this." Silver tossed the card to him. Gray took it and saw it was Absolute Zero Demon.

"Dad!" Gray cried as Silver vanished into the light. Gray was heartbroken that he lost his father, but he had plenty of anger. "What did you do to him?!"

"I did what you wanted. I showed some compassion and released his spirit."

"So you're the one behind all this! Who are you?" Erik said.

"Yeah. How about you show yourself?" Natsu said.

"Natsu, I'm hurt." Natsu didn't understand what he was saying until he turned to him. The man was still surrounded by a light with him wearing black with a large white sash around him with black hair. "Don't you recognize me?" Natsu took a good look at him and it soon came to him.

"No! It couldn't be!" Natsu said as he was now the one in disbelief. "Zeref? Is that you?"

"Zeref?" Lucy said as all of them wondered who he was.

"It's been a long time, Natsu." Zeref said.

"You've… You've been gone for so long. You're not really the one behind this, are you?" Natsu questioned.

"I am." Zeref said as the light around him became even brighter with all of them merging. "We'll see each other again." The light faded away and they all saw he was gone.

"Zeref…" Natsu said. A new darkness, a new enemy, and Natsu seems to be connected to it.


	12. Zeref in the Dark

It was a successful mission, but there were some prices to pay. Gray was able to defeat his own father, but the true mastermind showed himself. The mysterious Zeref. Everyone was able to make it back to the guildhall, but there were still some unanswered questions. They filled everyone else in on what happened, but things in the guild aren't so chipper for them than they usually are. Gray heard the door open.

"Natsu?" Gray said, but it was just Lucy. "Lucy, where's Natsu?"

"I stopped by his home, but he still won't talk." Lucy said.

"Well, I'll make him talk." Gray said. "He clearly knows who this Zeref is and I need to make this Zeref pay for what he did to my father."

"Chill out, man." Sting said. "We get that you're upset, but Natsu seems torn up as well."

"Lucy, what did Natsu say exactly when you went to see him?" Erza asked.

"Nothing really helpful." Lucy said.

…

Flashback

When they all got back to Magnolia, Natsu seems to have confided himself in his own home and he hasn't come out. Lucy made it in, but she saw Natsu in his room.

"Natsu?" Lucy said as she went to talk to him.

"My fault. Part of it's my fault." Natsu said.

"Hey. Don't say that." Lucy said as she raced over and grab his shoulders. "How is what happened with Mr. Fullbuster your fault?"

"Because I know Zeref, but I don't understand it." Natsu said and turned away from in frustration. "I don't get it! Why him?" Lucy was starting to get scared. She's never seen him like this.

End of Flashback

…

"That's about it. I thought he wanted to be left alone. So I didn't force anything out of him." Lucy said.

"Natsu clearly knows something." Rogue said.

"Indeed. Who is this Zeref?" Erza asked as everyone was thinking the samething.

"I believe that's where I step in." All of them looked to see Makarov stepping forward.

"Gramps? You know something about this Zeref?" Laxus said and Makarov did.

"Zeref….is Natsu's older brother." Makarov said. That was a shock to all of them.

"Brother?! Natsu has a brother?!" Lucy said.

"How come we never met or heard about him until now? Where has he been all this time?" Wendy asked.

"In order to understand, I have to take you back to the time when Natsu joined Fairy Tail." Makarov said. "It happened many years ago. I was on my way out in a rainy day." He remembered it all clearly such as him walking in the rain. "Suddenly, I heard the cries of a small child and that's when I saw them." He remembered turning his head towards the sound and saw a little Zeref holding a baby Natsu and trying to keep cover from the rain. "I learned that their parents passed from a tragic accident. Zeref has been struggling to take care of Natsu himself. I couldn't turn away from them. So I invited them to the guild and took care of them as if they were my own."

"That sounds just like you, but how come I don't remember Zeref?" Laxus asked.

"Back during those days, you were bit of a punk and didn't care much for those who were around you." Makarov said with a little laugh. "You didn't bother getting to know him." Laxus felt a little embarrassed and Makarov continued with the story. "Anyway, Fairy Tail became their home and this is where they grew up. In fact, Zeref was considered a genius at his young age. He was even the one that taught Natsu how to duel."

"He was?" Gray said.

"So how come we haven't met him when the rest of us joined the guild? How come Natsu never told us?" Erza asked.

"Well, one day this strange phenomenon started happening." Makarov said. "Natsu was just learning how to duel and he loved it. However, whenever it seemed like he was about to lose, something happened." Makarov remembered a few instances. Natsu was dueling with Zeref watching, but when Natsu was about to lose the duel, his opponent collapsed and appeared to be in pain with Natsu and Zeref with a few others rushing to his aid. "It was like his opponents were having a stroke or something. It was strange and no one understood how it was happening. People thought it was Natsu and because of that, some people were afraid of him."

"Yeah. I actually remember some of that." Laxus said as it all came back to him.

"Zeref soon learned that he was the reason for all of it." Makarov said.

"He was? How?" Lucy asked.

"I'm not really sure." Makarov said. "Zeref was always a gentle person. However, when Zeref learned that he was the cause of all of it, he just disappeared. He left Natsu here because he thought Natsu would be happier here. Natsu was hurt that his own brother left him. No one has seen or heard from him ever since. I wonder where he's been all this time and why he's return." All of them felt bad for Natsu. Now it all makes sense on how the two knew each other and why Natsu is acting like this. Now they're all wondering how they can help Natsu and what to do about Zeref. Meanwhile, Erik was just outside and he heard the whole story.

"So the bad guy this time is Natsu's own brother." Erik said.

"Looks like it."

"How long have you been standing there?" Erik said as he looked towards the side and saw Jellal come out of hiding.

"Long enough." Jellal said. "I came to see how your part of the investigation was going, but I got the most of it. So this Zeref might be the one with the dark power I've been weary of."

"But that doesn't make sense. The old man said this Zeref was a gentle person." Erik said. "How can he be the one you were looking for?"

"I'm not exactly sure. Erik, you stay here and try and gather more info. Keep an eye on Natsu as well." Jellal said. "I'll do a little investigating of my own and learn all I can about this Zeref." Jellal left at that and was on his way. 'Natsu, you were the one that helped me see how wrong I was and freed me from the clutches of the Underworld Lords. I hope this is my chance to help you.' He thought.

…

Natsu

The sun was setting and Natsu was tossing and turning around in his bed all day. He just didn't know what to think of Zeref and he didn't understand.

"This doesn't make sense." Natsu said and was getting frustrated with all of it. "Why, Zeref? Why did you abandon me? Why did you do that to Gray's dad? You never wanted to hurt anyone. This doesn't make sense." Natsu didn't know what to do about this.

"Natsu." Natsu could hear someone calling him, but he didn't see anyone.

"Who's there?" Natsu said. He felt his dragon mark glowing and he didn't know what was causing it. Was it trying to tell him something?

"Natsu."

"That voice!" Natsu said as he recognized it. "It's the same voice that's been calling me. It's Zeref!" Natsu kne that if he would follow that voice, he might find his brother.

….

The Guild

Natsu wasn't the only one turned around by this whole thing. Gray stared down at the card his father left him. Now that Gray knows the truth, he wasn't entirely sure if he should take revenge on Zeref since he's the only blood relative Natsu has and he knows the pain of losing one.

"Absolute Zero Demon? Dad, why did you give this to me?" Gray said.

"I know I'm interrupting, but I got a little worried." Gray looked away from the card and saw Juvia standing before him.

"Hey, Juvia." Gray said.

"I wanted to make sure you're okay. I heard about your father." Juvia said. Gray didn't really answer and that didn't really help Juvia. "Is that the card he gave you?"

"Yeah." Gray said. "I'm not sure what to do. I want to make the guys who did this to him pay, but Zeref is Natsu's brother. We might hold bonds as strong as family if not stronger, but we can't just ignore that fact. Can we?"

"Well, I don't think we should. Natsu was upset from losing his only brother." Juvia said. "Gray, I know this isn't my place to say, but perhaps your father would want you to help your friend rather than get revenge." Gray looked up at Juvia and Juvia thought he was mad. "I'm sorry. I know I don't know your father, but I just thought."

"No. You're right." Gray said. "That's exactly what my dad would want. Thanks a lot, Juvia."

"You're too much. I'm falling in love all over again." Juvia said with hearts in her eyes.

"Gray!" Lucy called out as she ran back in. "I went over to see Natsu again, but he's gone!"

"What?! We better find him!" Gray said.

"I'll come with!" Juvia said. They gathered some of the others and they started searching.

…

Natsu

Natsu was out in the woods. Whatever it was that Natsu was looking for, he was getting closer to it. He was hoping this would give him a clue as to where his brother might be. Natsu kept walking until he saw something ahead.

"What's that?!" Natsu said. He ran further ahead and he saw a purple light ahead of him. "What is that? Some sort of portal?"

"Natsu!" Natsu turned around and saw his friends, the other six dragons with Lucy, Erza, Gray, and Juvia.

"Natsu, what are you doing out here?" Erza said.

"I'm going to find my brother. I think he's just on the other side of that light." Natsu said.

"Natsu, that's crazy. You don't know what's on the other side." Rogue said. "You don't even know if your brother is on the other side."

"Rogue's right. This clearly has to be a trap." Erza said.

"We get you want to see your brother, but you might have no way of coming back." Sting said.

"I don't care. Zeref is my brother. I have to do this." Natsu said.

"I had a feeling you might say that. So we're not going to let you go alone." Laxus said.

"Yeah. We'll go with you and help you find your brother." Wendy said.

"No. I'm not dragging you guys into this." Natsu said. "Zeref is my brother. I'm partly to blame for what he's done."

"No you're not." Lucy said. "You didn't know where Zeref was. You couldn't have known what he was doing. Natsu, this sounds too dangerous."

"I don't care. I'm doing this." Natsu said. He turned to the light, but it was fading. "No. It's closing!" Natsu needed it to stay open, but he saw something glowing in his deck. He took out a card and saw it was Igneel. "Igneel? Are you trying to say you can help? Okay. Igneel, let's go!" Natsu summoned Igneel and Igneel unleashed a burst of fire at the portal.

"What's he doing?" Gajeel said.

"It looks like his duel energy is helping keep that portal open." Erik said.

"So maybe ours can help." Wendy suggested and all of them thought the same thing.

"Go, Metalicana!"

"Let's go, Weisslogia!"

"Rise, Skiadrum!"

"Let's do this, Heaveledge!"

"Go, Cuberin!" All five of them unleashed their dragons and all of them attacked the portal to open it. Natsu looked and was surprise to see his friends helping him out.

"Told you we weren't going to let you do this alone." Laxus said as they were with him all the way.

"Guys, are you sure this is a good idea?" Lucy said as she had some doubts.

"I don't think there's changing their mind." Erza said. Lucy could see how important this was to Natsu and Natsu can be pretty stubborn sometimes.

"Come on." Natsu said as he was hoping it would open.

"Go, Celestial Spirit Leo!"

"Armadura Fairy!" Natsu was surprised to see Lucy and Erza their best monsters as well and joined the attacks.

"If you can't beat them, join them." Lucy said.

"We'll help you out too." Erza said.

"Thanks girls." Natsu said. That just left Gray and Juvia and Juvia thought Gray would step in.

"Gray, aren't you going to help?" Juvia asked. Gray pulled out his father's card and wondered what to do.

"Come on! I think we almost got it." Natsu said.

"I summon Absolute Zero Demon!" Natsu saw Gray summon out his new card. His new demon unleashed an attack and joined in.

"Thanks, Gray." Natsu said.

"You're not leaving me out." Gray said.

"Hey! Something's happening!" Gajeel said. All of them looked and saw the light grow brighter and expanding. All of them felt something strange happening to them and they were all pulled inside. All of them were pulled in through the portal and are heading to a world that they will know nothing about all to find Zeref, but will they only end up in darkness as well?


	13. Swarming a New World

When it as revealed that Zeref, Natsu's older brother, might be a new enemy, Natsu sought out for answers. Natsu came across a portal, but his friends tried to talk him out of going thinking it might be a trap. Instead, they all went in together to help Natsu find his long lost brother. However, they have no idea where they are heading.

"What a ride." Natsu said as he was starting to wake up. He looked around and saw everyone else was on the ground. "Guy! Is everyone okay?"

"I think so." Erza said as they all tried to get back up.

"Lucy, are you hurt?" Natsu asked as he helped her up.

"I'm okay. Where are we?" Lucy asked. All of them had a look around and saw they were in a dark wasteland with dark clouds covering the sky. "I'm guessing we're not in Magnolia anymore."

"Where in the world are we?" Wendy asked.

"We don't even know if this is our world." Laxus said. "It's so dark here. I can't even tell if its day, night, or if one or the other even exists here."

"Let's get looking." Natsu said as he started walking. "Zeref's here somewhere. I can just feel it."

"Natsu, we don't even know where we are." Gray said. "We don't even know which way to go. Shouldn't we try to figure that all out first?"

"Maybe we can do both. Hopefully, if we get moving, we'll come across someone who can help us out." Sting said.

"Yeah. So get walking." Natsu said. Natsu wants to find his brother and he doesn't care where he has to go to do that. Natsu kept walking, but he felt Gajeel pull him back. "What did you do that for?"

"Your welcome." Gajeel said as he pointed ahead and saw that Natsu was about to walk over a cliff. "You should really watch where you're going."

"Natsu, we all get you want to find your brother, but we better be smart about this." Erza said.

"Agreed." Juvia said. "We don't know where we are and who knows what could be out here." Wendy walked over to the cliff and had a look down. She had a bad feeling coming from that chasm below.

"Something feels strange. I feel like there's something down there." Wendy said. Wendy was distracted and she didn't notice the rocks she was standing on broke off and she was about to fall in.

"Wendy!" Natsu reached out and grabbed her, but he lost his footing and they both fell down it.

"Natsu! Wendy!" Lucy called out, but they soon lost sight of them in the darkness. "Oh no. Do you think they're okay?"

"I'm sure they are." Rogue said as he had a look around. "Look! There's a path that leads down the cliff." All of them noticed it and saw a path that heads straight down.

"Let's go and find them." Laxus said. All of them agreed and headed for the path. Since they know nothing about where they are, they need to find their friends and stick together.

….

Natsu and Wendy

"Help! Help! We're falling!" Natsu shouted as he squirmed around.

"Stop that. You're both safe." Natsu opened his eyes and saw he wasn't falling anymore. He also felt someone holding him around the waist. Natsu looked and was met with Gladio as he placed both him and Wendy on the ground.

"Thanks a lot, Gladio." Wendy said.

"Of course." Gladio said.

"Hang on. Isn't he one of your cards?" Natsu asked.

"Yeah. Gladio, how were you able to save us? How do you have a physical form?" Wendy asked.

"It is rather strange. I felt some energy flowing through me. The same when you summon me, Wendy." Gladio said. "It seems, in this world, that energy flows through the air here. I believe in this world, duel spirits like me can come alive."

"Amazing!" Wendy said. Natsu was a little impressed himself, but he suddenly heard something.

"Someone's coming." Natsu said. He and Gladio readied themselves for anything as they heard someone come by with a faint light coming their way.

"Who are you three?" All of them thought he was trouble, but Gladio knew who he was.

"Wait. I know you. You're Gilford the Lightning." Gladio said. They were in the presence of a powerful monster.

"Gilford! I've heard of him. He's a powerful card back home." Wendy said.

"I won't ask again. Identify yourselves. Are you three with the evil ones?" Gilford said as he looked ready to fight.

"Evil ones? What are you talking about?" Natsu asked.

"My name is Gladio the Sky Warrior. These two here are associates of mine. I assure you that we mean you no harm."

"Gladio? I've heard tales of you." Gilford said and dropped his defenses. "Forgive me. It's just that this is not a safe place for innocent people."

"What are you talking about? Who are these evil ones?" Natsu said.

"Is there some sort of problem? Maybe we can help." Wendy said.

"You really don't know what's going on around here?" Gilford asked and none of them had a clue. "Follow me. I'll show you." He walked past them. They wanted to find their friends, but this sounded serious. The three of them followed Gilford through and could see a light coming from a cave up ahead.

"Great. A way out." Natsu said.

"Not exactly." Gilford said as he led them through it. All of them walked through and saw an underground civilization. However, they saw duel insects and they were treating humans and other duel monsters like slaves.

"Yuck. Overgrown bugs." Natsu said.

"What is all this?" Gladio asked.

"Those insects came one day and threw humans and weak duel spirits like us into slavery, forcing them to work." Gilford said.

"That's awful." Wendy said.

"Why is this happening?" Gladio asked.

"These insects are just a small battalion of what lies out there." Gilford said. "They are ruthless and merciless. I have gathered allies to stand against this unit and we plan on striking today."

"Natsu, we have to do something and help these people." Wendy said.

"Yeah. You're right. I just hope the others will be okay." Natsu said.

"Gilford, allow us to help you." Gladio said. "Wendy and Natsu are excel duelists. They were chosen by two of seven legendary dragons."

"I thank you for your bravery, but it will be dangerous." Gilford said.

"We don't know the meaning of dangerous." Natsu said. "Just tell us what you need to do." Gilford can see they were brave soldiers that won't run.

"Very well. The answer is up there." Gilford said as he pointed to the tower in the center. "That tower in the center is what powers all the lights down here. The insects can't see all that well in the dark. If we can shut out the lights, my forces can attack the insects and liberate the people. The problem is that the commander of these insects are up there as well."

"That's not going to stop us. Let's do it!" Natsu said and everyone felt the same way he did.

…

The Tower

Everyone were able to make it to the tower without being caught. They climbed their way to the top and tried to keep themselves hidden. Once they got there, they saw another bug standing there and looking down on the whole place.

"Is that the commander?" Natsu asked.

"That's him. Insect Knight." Gilford said. "We need to find some way to distract him while we take care of the lights."

"One distraction coming up." Natsu said as he ran out ahead.

"Wait. What are you doing?" Gilford said.

"Yo, Bugs!" Natsu said and got his attention.

"A human? What are you doing here?" Insect Knight asked.

"I heard about what you're doing and how you're treating people down here. I'm putting a stop to it." Natsu said. "You're the one who is calling all the shots, right?"

"And what if I am?" Insect Knight asked.

"I'm putting a stop to it." Natsu said as he activated his duel disk. "Let's go. You and me. If you're a duel spirit, you should be able to duel."

"A duel? Foolish boy. You're digging your own grave, but since you were stupid enough to come here, I'll play." Insect Knight said as he held out his arm and a duel disk appeared on his arm.

"The fool. Does he not know what he's doing?" Gilford asked.

"What's the matter? Natsu loves dueling. Back in our world, he lives for it." Wendy asked.

"You're not from here?" Gilford asked. "Well, dueling down here is different than how you're use to. When you duel, you play for keeps here."

"You mean that Natsu could…." Gladio couldn't bring himself to say it and it scared Wendy.

"Duel!" Both of them said and started. When their duel was starting, Natsu could feel his mark glowing.

"My mark is glowing?" Natsu said as he didn't understand why.

….

The Others

Lucy and the others were able to make it to the bottom of the chasm looking for Natsu and Wendy. However, the marks of the other dragons started glowing.

"My mark!" Gajeel said.

"It's Natsu." Sting said.

"Yeah. I think he's dueling something strange." Rogue said. They didn't know what was going on, but they knew to find them fast

….

Natsu

"I'll go first." Insect Knight said as he drew his card. "I summon Pinch Hopper." Pinch Hopper came on the field with 1000atk points. "I place one card facedown and end my turn."

"My turn!" Natsu said as he drew his card. "I summon Fire Dragon Sword Horn." Natsu summoned out a fighter with long horns made of fire and had 1200atk points. "Now crush that bug!" His fighter lunged forward and slammed into Pinch Hopper with it destroyed and his life points dropped to 3800.

"Thank you. That's what I wanted. I activate Colony Enforce. When an insect is destroyed, this trap brings out two insect tokens." Insect Knight said. Two insects came on the field and they both had 500def points. "Pinch Hopper's ability activates. When he's sent to the graveyard, I can summon any insect from my hand. I think I'll go with my Beetle Basher." A giant beetle with armor came up with 2000atk points. "What's more is that he gets 300atk points for every insect on the field." His beetle's attack points went to 2600.

"I'll just place two cards facedown and end my turn." Natsu said.

"Let's go. We still have a mission." Gilford said.

"Wendy, stay here and keep an eye on Natsu." Gladio said and Wendy did as the two went up.

"My turn!" Insect Knight said. "I think I'll have my beetle attack your Sword Horn." His beetle charged and slammed its horn against Natsu's monster and destroyed it with his life points dropping to 2600. "That's all I do this turn."

"My turn!" Natsu said and drew his next card. "Sweet. I'm activating Polymerization. With that, I'm fusing Burning Beauty with Dragon Girl. I fusion summon Dragon Lady Draqua." His two female monsters fused a woman with some dragon scales and wings. She also had 2300atk points. "I now activate Dragon Lady Draqua's special ability. She can deal 300 points of damage for every card on the field. There are a total of six cards, that's including your tokens. That means 1800 points of damage. **Raining Fire**!" Draqua spread her wings and unleashed a barrage of fireballs that rained down around Insect Knight with his life points dropping to 2000.

"Not bad, but not good either." Inset Knight said.

"I'm not done yet." Natsu said. "I'm activating Five Star Dragon Egg. This trap allows me to summon a level five or higher dragon from my hand. I have just the one. I summon Igneel the Fire Dragon!" Natsu called out his dragon and it flew on the field with 2500atk points.

"What the?! A legendary dragon?!" Insect Knight said.

"You better believe it. I now activate Igneel's ability. By sacrificing Draqua, Igneel gains all her attack points." Natsu said. Draqua turned into fire and entered Igneel's mouth and his attack points went to 4800.

"No! This can't be!" Insect Knight said.

It is. Igneel, take out that bug with **Fire Dragon Roar**!" Natsu said. Igneel unleashed a powerful blast of fire and destroyed the beetle with Insect Knight's life points dropping to zero. The duel was the perfect distraction as Gladio and Gilford messed with the lights and caused all of them to go out. Everyone noticed it and the insects could barely see.

"For liberty!" Gilford shouted as his allies came out of hiding and attacked all the bugs to save the people enslaved.

"Yeah." Natsu said.

"Not bad, human." Insect Knight said. Natsu looked and saw the burn marks Igneel left on the ground.

"Hold on. You're actually hurt?" Natsu said.

"You may have won, but you have no idea what you're up against." Insect Knight said. Natsu noticed something strange. He was glowing and turned to stardust.

"Whoa! What just happened?!" Natsu said. The lights came back on and most of the insects have been beaten. Wendy went over to Natsu who was still in shock.

"Natsu, are you okay?" Wendy asked, but Natsu didn't know how to answer that.

"Natsu! Is that you up there?!" Natsu and Wendy looked down and spotted Lucy and the others and were glad to see they were all safe. When everyone was liberated, Gilford showed them the way with it being a stairway.

"You can get out through here. I thank you and hope you find who you're looking for." Gilford said.

"Thank you." Erza said.

"We hope you'll be okay." Juvia said.

"We will, but you all must be careful. The evil force those insects serve might be beyond that point as well." Gilford said.

"I have to ask. What happened to that bug when I beat him?" Natsu said.

"I should have warn you before." Gilford said. "You all must exert caution when you duel here for if you lose here, it will be the last duel you ever have." That was a scary thought to them.

"Thanks for the warning." Laxus said.

"We're all going to have to be careful after this." Erik said and they all thought the same as they turned towards the stairs.

'Zeref, if you're up there, I'll find you.' Natsu thought. What lies ahead of them is danger and evil. It will take everything they have to make it out of this.


	14. In the Prison

"Look at all of them squirming." A dark figure watched down from a tower as he saw humans and some duel spirits held captive. They all kept losing a duel and such and because of that, they all turned into stardust. "Those weak creatures with those disgusting humans all having their troubles fade away."

"Sir, I have some news." The mysterious figured turned to see a yellow creature with spikes on his back and one eye walked over to him.

"What is it, Franmalth?"

"It would seem that the underground insect colony has been taken over. Those humans and the duel spirits that fight alongside them have taken it." Franmalth said. "Just imagine how much that will cost us. How much? How much?"

"I'm not too worried about that. That's just a mere post. A small fragment of our growing army."

"Yes, but I managed to get some surveillance. You might want to look at this." Franmalth said. He showed him a crystal ball and it showed Natsu dueling Insect Knight with his mark glowing and he used Igneel. That caught his attention.

"Interesting. Where's our nearest post from that underground village?"

"The prison. Kyoka headed there herself to round up the next batch of prisoners." Franmalth said.

"Send her a message to keep an eye out for that human. I have a feeling things are going to get amusing around here." The dark figure said as he turned to what was out there. "In time, our great and powerful lord will come to us and we shall rule over all."

…..

Natsu

After helping Gilford free the humans and duel spirits that Insect Knight and his bugs held captive, all of them got moving out of the ground as they headed up some stairs.

"I can't believe monsters that are usually in our cards are real here." Laxus said.

"Just goes to show that we better be ready for anything." Erik said. "We have no idea what could happen in this world."

"Erik's right. When we get to the top, be careful." Erza said.

"I'm not going to let a few monsters stop me from finding my brother." Natsu said. All of them could see the top again and they were above ground again in the ruins of a village.

"Where are we?" Gray said.

"It looks like we're in some sort of village….or what's left of it." Juvia said. They all looked around and they didn't see anyone in sight.

"No one's here?" Sting said.

"I sure hope those insects or whoever they work for didn't take them all away." Rogue said.

"So now what?" Gajeel said.

"Maybe we should have asked Gilford or someone to come with us." Wendy said. "We still don't know our way around here."

"I'm not going to waste time finding some tour guide when I should be finding my brother." Natsu said. "If Zeref isn't here, he's just somewhere else. Let's just get going." Natsu went on ahead and everyone was starting to get a little concerned.

"Is Natsu okay? He's acting a little different." Laxus said.

"Cut him some slack. He just wants to find his brother." Lucy said, but she's starting to get a little worried about him. Suddenly, Erik heard something heading their way.

"Guys. We're about to get some company. Hide." Erik said. Knowing that there might be some dangers in this world, all of them ducked under some buildings as two Doomcaliber Knights passed through.

"That's strange. I thought I heard something."

"You did. I can smell the foul scent of humans."

"Let's take them." Natsu whispered as he was ready to take action.

"No, Natsu." Gray whispered. "You saw what happens if you duel in this world. We actually risk our lives. It's too risky."

"Gray's right." Erza said. "We should only duel as a last resort." Natsu didn't like it, but it didn't seem like they were going to get a choice as one of the knights walked closer to their hiding spot.

"Vile creatures!" All of them heard someone come by and struck the knights down as they were turned to stardust as well. "You all may come out of hiding. You're safe now." All of them came out of hiding and they were met with another duel spirit. "Greetings. I do not recognize all of you. I am Neo. Neo the Magic Swordsman."

"Thanks a lot for helping us out." Sting said.

"Yes. Thank you so much." Wendy said.

"Of course, but what are you all doing here? It's dangerous." Neo said.

"Sorry. We're….not from here." Juvia said.

"She's right. We don't really know where we are or what's going on around here." Lucy said.

"I see. In that case, follow me." Neo said. "It would be safer for all of you for there's a hidden sanctuary you can stay in."

"Hold on. I need to find my brother." Natsu said.

"Natsu, we all could use some rest. It's clearly not safe here." Rogue said, but Natsu still wasn't willing to go.

"Walk." Laxus said as he pushed Natsu and saw he didn't really have a choice. So all of them went with Neo for some safety.

…..

The Mountains

Neo lead Natsu and the others up to the mountains. He flipped a hidden switch and it opened a pathway through the mountain.

"This way." Neo said. Neo showed them the way through a corridor as the path closed. Neo led them to one of the many rooms where a handful of people were. "Here is everyone else from the village."

"Is this really it?" Lucy said as she looked around. "It seems a little small for a village back there. Aren't there any others?"

"There were. Sadly, many of us have either been captured and taken to a prison or sent away." Neo said. "Many of us have lost family and loved ones because of this."

"How sad." Wendy said as they all felt sorry for them all.

"Neo, could you please tell us about who is doing this to you?" Erza asked. "Gilford told us of some evil force, but we don't know what it could be."

"Of course." Neo said. They all gathered together and shared with what food could be spared. "It all happened such a long time ago. The concept of night and day has faded away around the time they came. It's hard to tell when it happened anymore."

"Who did? What happened?" Gray asked.

"This world use to be a peaceful one, but that all changed one day." Neo said. "One day, these strange creatures appeared without warning. They weren't humans, but they weren't duel spirits either. They are creatures known as etherious. They seek to conquer our world. They've gathered powerful and dark forces to aid them in their cause and ravished many villages like our own."

"That must be who those bugs served before we got here." Gajeel said.

"They all do what they do for a dark lord of theirs." Neo said. "They are led by a sinister man known as Mard Geer and they have no regard, no remorse. They think they are superior beings to us."

"I wonder if that means they got Zeref." Natsu said.

"Natsu, Zeref might be working with them." Gray said. "You saw what happened with my father. Besides, we don't even know if your brother is in this world."

"Enough. Both of you. This is serious. Natsu, I know you want answers and find your brother, but let's handled one problem at a time." Erza said. "Neo, you said some of you were captured. Where were they taken?"

"There's a prison to the south of here." Neo said.

"Maybe I can find a clue to where Zeref is." Natsu said. "Neo, you have to show me where that prison is."

"I cannot." Neo said. "Most of those who are here aren't warriors. I can't just leave them. It's too dangerous. You're all free to stay here and may leave when you like, but I find it best you avoid those fiends."

"Neo's got a point. Dueling is really the only way we can defend ourselves, but we're goners if we lose." Erik said.

"What's the big deal? It's just about the same as when we took on Hades and the others." Natsu said.

"That was different, Natsu. Back then, it didn't seem like we had much of a choice." Laxus said. "We can't be careless here."

"Forget this." Natsu said as he got fed up with waiting around. "I'm going to that prison alone and find a clue as to where my brother is." Natsu was about to leave on his own, but Lucy grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"Hold on, Natsu." Lucy said. "We all get you want to find your brother, but we have to be smart about this. Don't go anywhere on your own." Natsu didn't want to wait around, but it seems like his friends just won't let him leave.

…

Later

After getting a little rest and some food, Lucy and the other Fairy Tail members gathered together to talk about Natsu and his recent actions.

"Does anyone else think Natsu's been acting differently." Laxus said. "He hasn't really been himself since we came to this world."

"Yeah. He's acting impulsive and rash." Gray said. "Okay, maybe that isn't unusual for him, but the point still stands."

"He's acting like he's in this alone." Gajeel said.

"Come on, guys." Lucy said as she kept trying to defend him. "He just wants to find his brother and get some answers. I know Natsu can be a little hard to deal with, but he needs us now."

"I'm with Lucy." Wendy said.

"I want to believe in him, but it's not really looking good for him." Juvia said.

"Guys!" Sting called out as he, Rogue, and Erik came running in. "Natsu's gone!"

"Are you serious?!" Erza said. All of them rushed to the last room Natsu was in and saw he was gone.

"I had a look around." Neo said. "Your friend is nowhere in the area."

"Natsu must have gone to the prison to find a trace of his brother." Erza said.

"That moron. He never thinks before he acts and it's starting to get annoying." Gray said.

"We can't let him go alone." Lucy said. "Natsu has always been there for us. We have to be there for him."

"Lucy's right." Wendy said. "Neo, thank you for the help, but we have to go and help our friend."

"I understand. I wish I could help, but I'm needed here. Best of luck." Neo said and all of them headed out to save Natsu before it was too late.

…

Natsu

Not one to just wait around, Natsu went on his own to the prison. Natsu isn't going to stop until he finds his brother. Natsu ran straight to the prison and could see a giant gate up ahead.

"That must be it." Natsu said and he ran right through, but there wasn't anyone around. "That's weird. This is the prison right?" Natsu looked around and saw cages formed from the rock this prison was made out of. Natsu looked in each of the cages, but there wasn't a soul anywhere. "This is weird. What kind of prison that has no guards or prison?"

"That's because it's a trap." Natsu looked in the air and saw something fly over him and it knocked him to the ground.

"A human came here by choice? Foolish." Natsu looked up and saw he was faced with someone. A woman with green hair and a helmet over her head. She wore a purple one piece with sleeves separate from it and claws and bird-like feet. "Nice moves, Archfiend Matador." The thing that flew over Natsu land next to her and it was another duel spirit.

"Of course, madam."

"Who are you?" Natsu said.

"I am Kyoka. Your superior, human." 'He's the one I was told about. Apparently, he holds a legendary dragon. Time to see what he's capable of.' She thought.

"I get it. You're one of those things that Neo told me about." Natsu said.

"Watch your tone." Archfiend Matador said.

"We were aware of your arrival. Did you really think you could just sneak into a prison?" Kyoka said.

"What happened to all the prisoners?" Natsu asked. "I want to know where my brother is."

"I don't know your brother, but he was probably sent to the fortress or turned to stardust like all the rest." Archfiend Matador said. "Mistress Kyoka, this prison is my responsibility. Let me take care of him. He is not worthy to face someone as glorious as you."

"Very well." Kyoka said.

"Bring it on. I'm not afraid of a duel." Natsu said as he activated his duel disk.

"Some people might see that being brave for you humans, but I see that being foolish." Archfiend Matador said.

"Defeat him and turn him to nothing." Kyoka said. 'A duel is also a good way to test this human. If Master Mard Geer is so interested in him, I'll see what he's capable of.' She thought. Archfiend Matador's arm opened up as a duel disk. Natsu won't stop until he finds his brother.

"Here we go!" Both of them said.


	15. Capture or Survive

In order to find his missing brother, Natsu hoped to find a clue at a prison that is run by fiends who take orders from a strange race known as etherious. Natsu went on his own, but it ended up being a trap. Now he has to face Archfiend Matador with the etherious known as Kyoka watching, but if he loses, he could be lost forever.

"Are you ready to vanish for all eternity?" Archfiend Matador said.

"Not happening, Halloween reject." Natsu said. Their duel was beginning as they both have 4000LP and Natsu's mark started glowing. "I'll be the one to make the first move. I draw." Natsu looked at his hand. He had an idea, but he might need a couple other cards to pull it off. "I'm just going to summon Fire Dragon Winger in defense mode." His fighter, with flames on his back that looked like wings, came on the field with 1000def points. "That's all for now."

"That's it? Only a fool plays one card. My turn. I draw." Archfiend Matador said. "I summon my Power Fiend Beast in attack mode." He summon a black beast that had a blade on the end of his tail and had 1500atk points.

"That thing doesn't scare me." Natsu said.

"You should be." Archfiend Matador said. "I now activate Fiend's Superior and equip it on my Power Fiend Beast."

"What does that do?" Natsu asked.

"I'm glad you asked." Archfiend Matador said.

"Hold on. It looks like we got some company." Kyoka said. All three of them looked to the gate. They all saw more fiends appear, but Natsu was shocked to see his friends were captured.

"Guys!" Natsu said.

"Hey, Natsu." Wendy said.

"What happened? What are all of you doing here?" Natsu said.

"We came after you, idiot." Laxus said. "Did you really think we were going to let you go in by yourself?"

"We were on our way here until we ended up in an ambush." Gray said. "These creeps here caught us by surprise."

"Now for you. What you were thinking of going in by yourself? We told you to wait." Lucy said.

"What are you even doing? Are you dueling?" Erza said. "Natsu, you know what dueling here means."

"So what? I'm not scared." Natsu said.

"You should be." Archfiend Matador said as he was taking pleasure in their misery and it's only begun. "As I was saying, my Fiend's Superior won't allow you to destroy my Fiend Power Beast in battle unless the attack point difference is at least 300."

"That doesn't sound too hard to overcome." Natsu said.

"Think again. Each time my Fiend Power Beast attacks, it gains 400 additional attack points." Archfiend Matador said.

"Oh no! If that beast continues to grow strong, Natsu will have a harder time getting rid of it." Juvia said.

"Allow me to show you how hopeless your situation is. Fiend Power Beast, strike at that Winger!" Archfiend Matador said. His beast leaped and shot its tail forward. "Here comes his power boost. He gains 400atk points." His beast's power went up to 1900. It pierced right through Winger and it destroyed him. "I place one card facedown to end my turn."

"You better step it up, little man." Kyoka said. "After all, your survival will depend on the survival of your friends here."

"Natsu, it's too risky. Just back down." Lucy said.

"Are you even listening to yourself? He's not going to back down." Sting said.

"Sting's right. He'll just keep going until the duel is done." Gajeel said.

"But Natsu says dueling should be fun and make bonds." Lucy said. "He knows what happens if you lose a duel. He would be against something like that."

"Maybe, but the fact is that if he doesn't duel, none of us might make it out of here." Rogue said.

"It's my move." Natsu said as he drew his next card. "I summon my Fire Dragon Iron Fist." He summoned his fighter and it had 1600atk points.

"He can't stop me." Archfiend Matador said.

"You'll think otherwise once I activate my Brilliant Flame!" Natsu said. "This spell will give him an extra 800atk points." Iron Fist grew stronger and now had 2400atk points. "That means he's stronger than your beast and the attack point difference is over 300."

"Wow." Gajeel said.

"What? That Natsu was able to get past that spell?" Erik said.

"No. The fact that he actually did math." Gajeel said.

"Iron Fist, take out his beast! Attack with **Burning Destroyer**!" Natsu said. His fighter leaped at the beast and was ready to take it down.

"I don't think so. I activate the Fallen Illness trap card!" Archfiend Matador said. "This trap doesn't just stop your attack, but it weakens your monster by 1000atk points." A black mist blasted Iron Fist and he became sick with his attack points dropping to 1400. Natsu was starting to get annoyed.

"I guess I have no choice, but to end my turn." Natsu said.

"You might as well just give up. There's no way you can beat me." Archfiend Matador said as he drew his next card. "It's my turn. I summon out Dark Opposer to the field." A specter with a black/blue cloak and wore a white mask with the sides black and a couple horns. It also had 800atk points.

"He doesn't looks so tough." Natsu said.

"That's okay. He doesn't have to be." Archfiend Matador said. "That's what my beast is for. Fiend Power Beast, attack his ill Fire Dragon Iron Fist. Don't forget that my beast gains another 400atk points." His beast grew stronger as its attack points rose to 2300. His beast lunged its tail at Natsu's Iron Fist and took him out as well and Natsu's life points dropped to 3100.

"That wasn't so bad." Natsu said.

"Act tough all you can, but it won't do you any good." Archfiend Matador said. "Without anything left on your field, Dark Opposer can attack you directly. Go, **Dark Psychic Struggle**!" His specter unleashed a psychic wave and it blasted Natsu. Natsu could feel his mind being twisted around as his life points dropped to 2300.

"Oh great. I'm going to have a serious headache." Natsu said.

"Hang in there, Natsu." Wendy said.

"This is bad." Rogue said. "Now Natsu is going to need a monster with at least 2600atk points if he wants to take out that beast. What's more is that Dark Opposer."

"What do you mean?" Juvia asked.

"That Dark Opposer's ability is what I mean." Rogue said. "Once a turn, if Natsu decides to attack that monster, he can deflect the attack and Archfiend Matador can choose a different target for Natsu to attack."

"Not good. If Natsu doesn't win this, we're all goners." Gray said.

'Perhaps Mard Geer was wrong. I don't see anything special about this boy.' Kyoka thought.

"You might as well surrender now. There's nothing you can do." Archfiend Matador said.

"Not a chance. I never surrender." Natsu said.

"Fine. Be a glutton for punishment. I actually enjoy a human resisting before I sentence them to their demise." Archfiend Matador said. "Go ahead make your final move."

"We'll see about that." Natsu said as he drew his next card and it was his Relit trap card. "Perfect. Just the card I needed. First, I'm going to summon my little buddy. I summon Happy the Flying Cat to the field." Natsu summoned out a blue cat with wings and he had 300atk points.

"A cat? Am I suppose to be scared? How is a cat going to stop me?" Archfiend Matador said.

"You're about to see." Natsu said. "I activate my Straight To It spell. This allows me to activate a trap from my hand. The trap I'm going with is Relit and now I can bring back Fire Dragon Iron Fist." His fighter rose back to field and felt as good as knew.

"I already defeated that monster. All you're doing is wasting what little time you have left." Archfiend Matador said.

"That's what you think. How about you just shut up and let me continue." Natsu said. "Thanks to Happy's ability, I can attack you directly with him. Happy, attack that freak with **Max Speed**!" Happy flew right at Archfiend Matador as fast as he could and slammed his head against him. Archfiend Matador's life points did drop to 3700, but that attack seemed to have hurt Happy more than Archfiend Matador.

"Was I suppose to be hurt or scared from that attack? Pathetic." Archfiend Matador said.

"I'm not quite done yet." Natsu said. "Since Happy was able to deal some damage, I can now activate Exceed Wings. Now every monster on your field is destroyed and you take damage to the combine total of their attack points."

"I what?!" Archfiend Matador said.

"You'll see." Natsu said as Happy snapped him to normal. Happy's wings gain some power and grew and came around Archfiend Matador's monsters and destroyed both of them.

"No!" Archfiend Matador said as his life points dropped to 600.

"With no monsters to protect you, you're finished! Iron Fist, attack him and end this." Natsu said. His monster went on the attack and pounded Archfiend Matador hard in a serious blaze of fire and all his life points dropped to nothing.

"No." Archfiend Matador said as he dropped to his knees. "How could I lose to a mere human?"

"I don't know, but you did." Kyoka said.

"Mistress Kyoka, I'm sorry." Archfiend Matador said as he started glowing.

"Just get lost. You're starting to tick me off." Natsu said. Archfiend Matador burst into stardust and he was gone. His fellow monsters couldn't believe Archfiend Matador was destroyed. All of them got scared that their boss was gone and they all ran off.

"Cowards." Kyoka said as she was the only one unfazed by what just happened. She heard something hit the ground. She looked down and saw four glowing white marbles and each one had a different symbol of an angry face, a drop, a four point star, and an X. "What do we have here?"

"So are you next?" Natsu said as he was ready to face her right now.

"Natsu, enough!" Gray said. Lucy saw what happened in front of her and she couldn't believe it.

'This isn't right.' Lucy thought. 'I know Natsu wants to find his brother, but this isn't right. He always says that dueling should be fun and about forming bonds. Not this. Even if that was a monster, Natsu brought him down like that and doesn't even seem to care. It goes against what he believes. Everyone's right. Natsu isn't himself.' She was actually starting to get scared of Natsu now. Kyoka looked down and saw the marbles and saw them disappear.

"Very interesting." Kyoka said.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!" Natsu said. "There were other humans here, weren't there? What happened to all of them? Do you know where my brother might be?"

"If you want answers, you'll have to come to the fortress where my master awaits." Kyoka said. A green light came around her and she teleported away.

"A fortress? Don't tell me we're actually going there." Juvia said.

"If Natsu keeps acting out this way, we just might." Erik said.

"I'm starting to wonder if this was even a good idea." Wendy said. Natsu looked up to the sky. Everyone else was having second thoughts, but not him.

'Don't worry, Zeref.' Natsu thought. 'If you're out there, I'm not going to stop until I find you. I don't care what I have to do to find you.' He thought that, but he'll end up regretting it.


	16. The Underworld King Pt1

Kyoka returned to the fortress she spoke of. Once there, she climbed up to a throne room where eight others have been waiting for her. Some of them had human-like figures and others didn't even look human like Franmalth.

"Look whose back."

"How did it go at the prison?"

"Surprisingly not well." Kyoka said. "Mard Geer, you were right to inform me about that boy. He's more skilled and powerful than I thought. I thought Archfiend Matador had him, but he turned it all around in one turn."

"So this boy is something special." Mard Geer said.

"Yes, but there's something I should inform you of." Kyoka said as she walked over to him and was whispering something in his ear.

"What's she doing? Why doesn't she tell the rest of us?"

"Be patient, Jackal. She knows what she's doing."

"Who cares? I'm getting sick of waiting around. Let's just get out there and start wrecking everything in sight."

"One should not rush these things. The humans and the weak spirits shall be vanquished all in time."

"Keyes is right." Franmalth said. "I can hardly imagine how much it all costs. Their worthless lives will soon increase in value the more we take out." He was practically drooling.

"Enough of that. You'll dishonor us, Franmalth. It's not all about money and value."

"I know, but it is fun to think about." Franmalth said.

"Have they now?" Mard Geer said as Kyoka finished telling what happened. "This could be most useful to us if he's as powerful as I think he is. He must be one of the ones I was told about. Silver obviously failed, but we shall not. They'll be coming here and we'll be ready. Franmalth, the Armored. Ezel, the Blade. Torafuzar, the Dark. Keyes, the Black Archbishop. Tempester, the Calamity. Seilah, the Chill Moon. Jackal, the Explosive. Kyoka, the Slave Planet. We shall show these humans that choose to fight us what despair really is." Natsu and his friends have no idea of the danger they are walking into danger.

…

The Prison

Natsu may have been able to defeat Archfiend Matador, but there wasn't a sign of any one anywhere. Everyone else waited outside while Natsu was looking around for it.

"This is so stupid. What is he looking for?" Gajeel said.

"Probably a clue to his brother like he wanted to find." Rogue said.

"I have to admit that I'm starting to get worried about him." Erik said. Erik looked over to some of the others and saw that Gray, Lucy, Erza, and Juvia, aren't doing much of anything. "You guys okay? You haven't said much of anything."

"No! We're not okay!" Gray said with a lot of anger. "We shouldn't be here in the first place! This is all Natsu's fault. Would it kill him to think before he acts?"

"I actually agree. It's actually annoying how he's always running off like that and we end up paying for his mistakes." Erza said.

"It's so sad. I always thought he was a nice guy, but my darling and I are hurting because of it." Juvia said as she looked ready to cry.

"I thought I knew Natsu, but I guess I don't." Lucy said.

"Guys, are you okay?" Wendy asked as she felt something was wrong with all of them.

"That's it. I'm going to get him." Laxus said. "We'll figure something out and talk some sense into him." Laxus was about to go in, but he didn't get the chance as Natsu came out riding on a horse skeleton.

"Check it out!" Natsu said as he showed he had a bunch of them.

"Are those horses?!" Sting said.

"More like the remains of horses." Rogue said.

"I found these guys and this." Natsu said as he held a piece of paper. "It's a map to that fortress that woman was talking about."

"Do you even know how to read a map?" Gajeel said.

"Its fine and we'll get there faster with these guys." Natsu said.

"Natsu, that sounds too dangerous." Wendy said.

"Wendy's right. We would be walking into the home of the bad guys." Sting said. "We should head back to Neo's little hideout and come up with a plan form there. We don't even know if your brother is there."

"You guys do whatever you want, but I'm not waiting around." Natsu said and he rode off to the fortress.

"See what I'm talking about? He doesn't even seem to care what we think anymore." Gray said.

"Come on." Laxus said as he mounted on one of the horses. "We have to stick together." The others agreed to that and they all jumped on a horse with all of them riding off.

….

A Valley

Natsu read the map and it took them to run through a valley. Natsu was out ahead, but everyone was trying to keep up with him.

"Does he even know how to read a map? Are we even heading in the right direction?" Erik said.

"We'll just have to trust, Natsu." Wendy said.

"Trusting him is getting hard to do." Erza said.

"Whatever you say. All I know is that we need to giddy up." Sting said as he acted like a cowboy and the six dragons hurried ahead. However, two arms came out of the ground and grabbed the legs of Juvia and Lucy's horses and caused them to fall over. Gray and Erza noticed it and pulled over.

"Are you two okay?" Gray said.

"I think so." Lucy said.

"Hey!" Erza called out, but she saw the others were already gone. "Great. They didn't even noticed that we stopped." All four of them were alone and something was coming over them.

"This is stupid. This is all Natsu's fault." Gray said. "We wouldn't even be in this mess if it weren't for him." Suddenly, an angry face mark appeared on his neck.

"You're right. I can't take this much more myself." Erza said with an X appearing on her cheek.

"I thought Natsu was our friend, but he doesn't even seem to care about us." Juvia said with a drop mark on her hand.

"He just wants to find his brother, but I'm starting to wonder if he is even the same Natsu myself." Lucy said with a star appearing on her shoulder.

"Climb on. Let's see if we can try and find them." Gray said. "When we do, I'm going to give Natsu a piece of my mind." All of them were about to go, but something with four arms shot out of the ground and knocked them all to the ground.

"About time we got you." Ezel said.

"Easy, Ezel." All of them turned around and was met with another giant monster.

"Come on, Torafuzar." Ezel said. "What's wrong with tormenting these humans?"

"Who are you creeps?" Gray asked.

"That's not important. You four are coming with us." Torafuzar said as the two of them closed around them and there was no place for them to escape.

…..

Natsu

Natsu rode his horse through the rock valley and he could see something just up ahead. A building mixed with part of the rocks in the surrounding area.

"Is that it?" Natsu said as he pulled over. "Great. Zeref could be in there." Natsu hopped off and was about to go in.

"Natsu, wait." Natsu turned around and saw the others caught up to him.

"Natsu, wait. It looks like we lost Gray and the girls." Laxus said.

"We did?!" Natsu said.

"They must have gotten lost or something." Gajeel said.

"We should head back and try and find them. It's not safe out there." Rogue said.

"Okay. You guys go back. I'm going in." Natsu said.

"What? You mean you're not even going to try and look for them?" Wendy said. "Natsu, they're your friends too. You can't just go on without them."

"It'll be fine. I'm just going to see if I can find Zeref." Natsu said as he was about to head on in, but Sting grabbed his arm and yanked him back.

"Will you quit acting like you're in this alone?!" Sting said, but Natsu didn't understand. "Natsu, ever since we got here, you keep going off and we need to work together. We don't even know if your brother is in there. He could be in league with these guys."

"But he's my brother. Besides, we won't know unless we look." Natsu said.

"So you're putting your brother above your friends?" Erik said. "That doesn't sound much like someone from Fairy Tail." When Erik said that, Natsu wasn't quite sure what to do. Suddenly, the heard the doors open up to a field.

"By all means, please come in. You want your four friends back. Don't you?" When they heard their friends were in trouble, all of them went rushing inside. Once they did, they were in an arena with the eight etherious in the stands. Across from them was a man in a throne with him having long black hair and wore a blue coat.

"Welcome. I am Mard Geer."

"So you're the one Neo warned us about." Rogue said.

"Look up there!" Wendy said as she pointed to the stands and saw Kyoka.

"It's that woman from the prison." Gajeel said.

"Nice to see you again." Kyoka said.

"So these are the ones who were chosen by the dragons?" Seilah asked.

"They don't look that special to me." Jackal said.

"Looks can be deceiving. Let's see what they can do." Keyes said.

"You said something about our friends. Are they here?" Natsu asked.

"Of course. Be hold." Mard Geer said as he gestured to the stands. Natsu and the others looked there and saw them open up. Out of them came Gray and the girls unconscious and in chains.

"What did you?! Did you hurt them?" Natsu asked.

"Did we?" Tempester asked.

"Sadly no." Kyoka said. "However, once again, their fates are in your hands."

"She's right." Mard Geer said as he stood from his throne and walked over. "If you want to save them, one of you will have to be brave enough to face me."

"Not that any of them have a chance." Ezel said.

"Fine!" Natsu said. "You don't scare me. I'll take you on." He pulled out his duel disk and was ready to rumble.

"Natsu, you can't." Wendy said.

"She's right. This has to be some sort of trap." Rogue said.

"But it might be the only way to save them." Erik said.

"So let's do this!" Natsu said. Mard Geer smirked as he was up to something.

'He's taken the bait. I've been weary of those who were chosen by the dragons. Now to see what you can really do.' Mard Geer thought. He held out his arm and dark green duel disk appeared on his arm. Both of them activated and were set to go.

"Let's duel!" Both of them said and started with 4000LP.

"I'll make the first move." Mard Geer said as he drew his card and was glad with what he got. "I activate Book of Underworld." A black book rose over him and had a dark aura around it.

"What does that do?!" Natsu said.

"You'll find out soon enough." Mard Geer said. "I'll now summon Underworld Rose in attack mode." A rose with red eyes grew on the field and had 400atk points. "I place one face-down and end my turn."

"Why would he summon a monster that weak in attack mode?" Erik said.

"Be careful, Natsu. He's up to something." Laxus said.

"That's not stopping me!" Natsu said as he drew his card. "I summon Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" Natsu summoned his fighter and had 1600atk points. "Time for some weed whacking. Attack his Underworld Rose!" His monster easily destroyed that Rose and Mard Geer's life points dropped to 2800.

"Thank you." Mard Geer said, but Natsu was confused. "Since you attacked me, I can use the effects of my book to take a Curse Mark and send it to the grave." When he said that, Gray and the girls were starting to wake up.

"What's going on?" Lucy said.

"Natsu?" Gray said. Natsu and the others looked to the side and saw them up.

"Guys! You're okay!" Natsu said.

"Not quite. I send Curse Mark: Anger to the grave." Mard Geer said and sent a card to the grave.

"Natsu, what's going on?!" Gray said.

"Don't worry. I'll get you out of there." Natsu said.

"You better. Because…." Gray said as anger was taking him over. "I'm in this mess because of you!"

"What?" Natsu said.

"You never think before you act and we always end up paying for your mistakes!" Gray shouted. "We're here because we wanted to help you, but you don't really seem to care what happens to us anymore! I thought you were better than that, but I guess I was wrong!"

"Gray, that's not true." Natsu said, but something strange happened. The mark on Gray flew out of his body and his body started glowing. "Gray?" Gray felt all his energy was gone and he turned to stardust.

"Gray!" Juvia shouted as all of them couldn't believe what happened to him. Natsu followed the mark and it was placed inside the book. It opened up with Gray inside the pages.

"What did you do to him?!" Natsu said.

"You mean what did you do to him? This happened because you attacked me." Mard Geer said. "Your friends have been branded with a curse mark. Each time you attack me, I can send a curse mark to the graveyard and you'll lose one of your friends for each mark. Then, when all four are in the graveyard, their energy will give rise to my most powerful monster."

"So if Natsu attacks, the girls will end up just like Gray?!" Sting said.

"No. We can't let this happen." Gajeel said.

'This is bad.' Natsu thought as he's never been in a more serious duel. 'I have to find some way to stop him, but how can I do it without attacking him?'

To Be Continued….


	17. The Underworld King Pt2

Natsu hoped to find his brother, but all he found was trouble. He was challenged by Mard Geer with his friends captured. Natsu has his Iron Fist at 1600atk points and had all his life points. Mard Geer had 2800LP with a face-down and a dangerous card called Book of Underworld. It's because of that book that Natsu is in a serious situation.

'If I attack him, he'll send another one of those marks to the graveyard.' Natsu thought. 'If they are connected to my friends, they'll drain their energy and they'll be lost in that book. Just like Gray. I've got to figure out how to stop him without attacking.'

"There's still a duel going on." Mard Geer said and caused Natsu to snap out of it. "Since Underworld Rose was destroyed, I can take a plant from my deck and add it to my hand. I think Underworld Cephalotus will do quite nicely. It's still your move. Anything else you like to try?"

"I end my turn." Natsu said.

"This is bad. We need to figure out how to get the girls out of there." Sting said.

"What about Gray? Is there any way for us to save him?" Wendy said.

"I don't think so. I think Gray might be….gone." Laxus said. None of them wanted to admit it, but Laxus might be right.

"My turn!" Mard Geer said as he drew his next card. "I summon Underworld Cephalotus to the field." A carnivorous plant with eyes came up and had 1200atk points. "I also activate the effects of two Underworld Thorns that are in my hand. By sending them to the graveyard, I can force two monsters in your deck to come to the field."

"You can do that?" Natsu said.

"Yes." Mard Geer said as images of Natsu's cards appeared in front of him. "I think I'll take Fire Dragon Winger and Sword Horn." Both of Natsu's monsters were forced out with them both having 1000 and 1200atk points.

"Why would he force my monsters out?" Natsu said.

"Now I use the special ability of Cephalotus." Mard Geer said. "It can force your monsters to attack, even if it's not your turn."

"What?!" Natsu said.

"Yes. When all three of your monsters attack, I'll send the remaining three marks to the graveyard and your friends will be sent away." Mard Geer said as his plant released a gas and Natsu's monsters were ready to attack.

"No." Juvia said.

"Natsu, do something." Lucy said. Natsu looked at what he got, but nothing.

"I can't. I can't do anything to stop him." Natsu said.

"Iron Fist, since you're the strongest, you come first." Mard Geer said. Natsu's fighter went against him and attacked. It destroyed Mard Geer's plant and his life points dropped to 2400. "Now for the other two."

"No!" Natsu shouted, but his other two monsters were forced to attack Mard Geer directly. Both of them landed attacks against him and his life points dropped all the way to 200.

"Mard Geer only has 200LP left." Jackal said.

"It's fine. All part of his plan." Torafuzar said.

"Now that you have attacked me, I can take Curse Mark: Disgust, Sadness, and Doubt from my decks and send them to the grave." Mard Geer said. "That also means your friends are doomed."

"No." Natsu said and turned to them.

"Natsu, how could you do this to us? I can't even look at you." Erza said.

"It's so sad. I thought you cared, but you didn't." Juvia said.

"No. It's not like that. Lucy?" Natsu said as he hoped Lucy knew better.

"I thought we were friends. I thought I was important to you, but I guess I was wrong." Lucy said.

"No, Lucy." Natsu said for Lucy meant more to him than anything. Sadly, the three marks on their bodies came out of them and all three of the girls turned to stardust. The marks floated in the book and the girls filled the pages.

"They're gone!" Rogue said as none of them could really believe it.

"That's right. All of them were branded with a curse mark. Anger. Disgust. Sadness. Doubt. The things we etherious enjoy seeing on you humans." Mard Geer said with his subordinates laughing. "They've left this world believing it's your fault and it kind of is." Natsu was beyond angry now and he knew just who to take all that rage on.

"You! You'll pay for this!" Natsu said.

'That's right, human. Get angry and cloud your judgement. Walk into your demise.' Mard Geer thought.

"Is it really Natsu's fault?" Wendy questioned.

"No way. That creep forced him to do it. He's just trying to get under his skin." Erik said. "Now that's he got all four, what's he going to do?"

"Now I can quit holding back." Mard Geer said as he was getting serious. "I activate the Alegria trap." A strange red substance that almost looks like flesh formed around Natsu's field. It connected to Natsu's monsters and was enveloping all around them.

"What is that stuff?" Natsu said.

"As long as this trap remains on the field, the monsters you currently have out can't attack. They can't protect you or use their special abilities either." Mard Geer said. "Now for the best part. With all four marks in place, I can now summon Underworld King Tartaros!" The pages in the book flipped around and released a dark energy and released a black demon with wings and had 3000atk points.

"So you sacrificed my friends to summon that?!" Natsu said as he hated it more and more.

"Yes and you'll be joining them." Mard Geer said. "Since your monsters can't protect you, you're open for a direct attack. Underworld King Tartaros, strike him down with **Thorn Frenzy**!" Natsu felt the ground under him shake and vines with thorns shot out and cut against Natsu with his life points dropping all the way to 1000. "Underworld King's special ability activates. Since you took damage, I gain half of that damage to my life points." Mard Geer gained power and has 1700LP.

"So that's what he was aiming for. That's why he didn't care about the damage he took." Sting said.

"You pathetic humans don't stand a chance." Kyoka said.

"Indeed. Mard Geer rules over all of us and you will either bow to him or be among the fallen." Keyes said.

"Not happening!" Natsu said.

"You won't have a choice." Mard Geer said as he set a card.

"My turn!" Natsu said and drew his next card. He saw it was Igneel and his mark was glowing bright. "You might have stopped these three from attacking, but I can still use them for summoning. I tribute Winger and Sword Horn so that I can summon Igneel the Fire Dragon!" He released both of his monsters and brought out Igneel and all 2500atk points.

"So that's one of the legendary dragons?" Mard Geer said.

"I activate Igneel's ability." Natsu said. "If I send Iron Fist to the graveyard, all his attack points go to Igneel." Iron First turned to fire and went to Igneel and Igneel's power increased to 4100. "Without all three of them, your trap is no use." Mard Geer's trap was destroyed, but that didn't bother him. "Igneel, take out that Underworld King with **Fire Dragon Roar**!" Igneel breathed out powerful flames and blasted Tartaros with it being destroyed and Mard Geer's life points dropping to 600.

"Not bad, but you should have taken me out when you had the chance." Mard Geer said.

"I'll get you yet." Natsu said as he ended his turn.

"I doubt it." Mard Geer said and drew his next card. "I activate the Enemy Form trap. This allows me to take a monster in my deck and summon it on your field."

"My field?" Natsu said.

"I think I'll give you Underworld Weed." Mard Geer said and tossed a card to Natsu's duel disk. Out came a weed with a face and had no attack points. "Underworld Weed's special ability now activates. When it's summoned, the opponent gets to draw a card."

"Hold on. You summoned it to my field." Natsu said.

"That makes me the opponent." Mard Geer said and drew an extra card. "I activate Dark Sprout. It allows me to bring back a fiend or plant in my graveyard. I'm bringing back Underworld King Tartaros." His best monster rose out of the ground and was back to full power. "Now his special ability activates. When he's summoned from the graveyard, he destroys every monster on your field and you take 300 points of damage for each one." His monster had thorns grow out of the ground and lashed against Natsu's monsters with them being destroyed. Natsu took some of it himself as his life points dropped to 400 and he dropped to the ground.

"Natsu!" Wendy shouted as they were all worried he was hurt.

"Now I also gain half of the damage you took." Mard Geer said as his life points went to 900. "You're lucky I can't attack after using that ability. There is no chance of you defeating me. I can see your terror."

"It's not terror I'm feeling." Natsu said as he was getting back up. "All I'm feeling is rage. Rage for what you did to my friends. I use to duel for fun, but all I want now is payback." Natsu's dragon mark was reacting to his rage as it glowed a dark shade of red. "It's payback time."

"I don't like this." Laxus said. "His mark is glowing in a way it never has before."

"He's letting his anger get the better of him. He better pull it together or else Mard Geer will take advantage of it." Rogue said.

"It's my turn!" Natsu shouted. "I activate Monster Reborn! Now I can bring back one monster and the monster I'm bringing back is Igneel." Igneel rose again and was ready for payback as well. "Next, I'm activating the Dragon Raged equip spell! Even if my attack fails, I won't take damage and your card will still be destroyed. Igneel, show him what I'm talking about! Time to take out his Underworld King. I know I can't bring my friends back, but I'll enjoy watching you squirm. Now take him out!" Igneel went on the attack and blasted Tartaros with fire again and destroyed it.

"You can't destroy him that easily. I activate the effects of Dark Sprout from my graveyard. If I remove it from play, the last monster that was destroyed comes back." Mard Geer said and Tartaros returned once more.

"You never learn." Natsu said.

"Neither do you." Mard Geer said. "Don't forget that he can now destroy every monster on your field and you take 300 points of damage for each card." Igneel was lashed by some flames again and was destroyed with Natsu only having a 100LP left and Mard Geer grew stronger with 1050LP.

"Big mistake! When a monster equipped with Dragon Raged is destroyed, I can destroy your card again." Natsu said. "Stay in the grave! Keep coming back and I'll keep destroying it!" Tartaros was destroyed again, but Mard Geer was still calm.

'What he doesn't know is that I still have Underworld Flytrap in my hand. It will finish this.' Mard Geer thought. 'Anger has clouded his judgement.'

"I activate Waking of Dragons!" Natsu said and Mard Geer was actually surprised. "Now I can bring back a dragon that was destroyed." Igneel rose back and was ready to finish this.

"This cannot be!" Mard Geer said.

"This is goodbye!" Natsu said. "Avenge my friends!" Igneel unleashed his attack and blasted Mard Geer with all his life points dropping to zero. None of the etherious could believe it. Mard Geer lost. "That's what you get for what you did to my friends!"

"I never thought I actually lost, but it doesn't matter." Mard Geer said. "Your friends are gone and it's all because of you." Mard Geer took satisfaction in that as he turned to stardust and was gone. None of the etherious could believe that their leader was actually beaten.

"Natsu, are you okay?" Wendy said.

"Come on. Let's just get out of here." Gajeel said.

"I'm afraid he isn't going anywhere." All of them look to the entrance. A dark fog was coming through with someone coming in. The fog surrounded them except for Natsu and they all appeared to be in pain.

"What's happening?" Erik said.

"Can't really breathe." Sting said. All of them started to glow and they were turned to stardust as well.

"No!" Natsu shouted.

"I'm sorry, Natsu." Natsu looked through the fog and saw Zeref.

"Zeref!" Natsu said and he wasn't happy. All the etherious were surprised to see him.

"It's Lord Zeref!" Kyoka said and all of them bowed in his presence.

"What? They take orders from you? You've been behind all this?" Natsu said.

"I was hoping it would just be you coming, but it all worked out." Zeref said.

"Worked out? My friends are gone because of you!" Natsu said.

"How is it my fault?" Zeref said. "You were suppose to come alone, but you brought them here. I've been watching, Natsu. You brought your friends here. Your friends wanted to help, but all you cared about was finding me. If you were more concerned for your friends, they wouldn't have perished like this."

"No. That can't be…" Natsu didn't want to believe, but he thought back to how he was acting. "No. No!" Natsu screamed as he couldn't believe any of this. "I never wanted this! I set to find my brother. How could it have gone like this?"

"It's okay, Natsu." Zeref said as he placed his hands on Natsu. "I am still your brother. I am still here for you. Soon none of it will even matter."

"Matter?" Natsu questioned, but when Natsu looked in his brother's eyes, Zeref's eyes started to glow and Natsu's eyes started to become vacant. Natsu is falling in the dark and it looks like there might be no way out.


	18. Beginning of END

Darkness has spread. The leader of the etherious known as Mard Geer may have been defeated, but the power and reign of the etherious isn't over. All of the etherious bow to Zeref.

"The time has come for a new world to meet its end." Zeref said.

"We are here to serve you, Lord Zeref." Kyoka said.

"Your wish is our command for we are merely your humble servants." Keyes said.

"I appreciate all of that, but it's not just me you will be answering to." Zeref said. "Here who is taking Mard Geer's place." All of them turned to the doors that opened up with a new figure stepping forward. He would take Mard Geer's place, but some of the etherious weren't so sure.

"Who is that?" Tempester asked.

"Man. You got a lousy memory." Jackal said. "We all know who that is, but I'm not sure I like taking orders from him."

"Me either. Why is he even still here?" Ezel said.

"Silence. It's not our place to question." Torafuzar said. "Besides, the person he once was is no more thanks to Lord Zeref."

"He's right." Seilah said. "We won't have much to worry about."

"No, you don't." Zeref said. "It's now time to begin. It is time for the human world to fall."

…

Natsu and his friends traveled to another world in hoping to find Natsu's brother. That's all that seemed to matter to Natsu and that caused him to ignore his friends. When Natsu tried to fight for them, they all met their demise. At least that's what Natsu thought.

"Ow. My head." Lucy said. She was starting to wake up and she felt like herself again. "What happened? Where am I?" Lucy looked around and she saw all the others on the ground. "Hey! Everyone! Are you okay?" Everyone was starting to wake up. They felt a little groggy, but they were feeling better.

"Man. I feel like I had the worst nap ever." Gray said. Gajeel and the others felt fine and noticed that Gray and the girls were still here.

"Gray?! Girls?!" Gajeel said as all six of them were really confused. "Hang on. You're all okay? We saw you four turn into stardust and ended up trapped in that book."

"Stardust? Book?" Erza questioned, but she and the others suddenly remembered what they were talking about. "You're right. We did."

"What came over us? I felt so miserable." Juvia said.

"Something came over all of us." Gray said.

"Hang on. How are we even here?" Sting said. "I remember after Natsu won the duel, there was this black fog and we all had trouble breathing. I thought we were all goners."

"So did I. Where are we anyway?" Rogue said. All of them had a look to see they were all by a lake and that lake was right on the edge of Magnolia.

"We're back in Magnolia?" Wendy said.

"This is really freaky. What's going on?" Laxus said. "I thought we all met our ends back in that other world. How did we end up back in Magnolia?"

"I'm not sure." Lucy said. She had a look around and noticed that someone was missing. "Wait a minute. Where's Natsu? He's not here." All of them looked around and saw she was right. Natsu was nowhere around here.

"Where is he?" Erik asked.

"You don't think he's back in that other world all alone, do you?" Wendy said.

"Why wasn't he brought back with us?" Juvia said.

"Guys, I think we have other problems. Look." Gray said as he pointed to the sky. They all saw dark clouds forming over and formed over all of Magnolia. None of them understood what was happening.

"This can't be good." Juvia said.

"Brace yourselves. I got a bad feeling about this." Erik said. He was right to feel that way as a blast of energy shot down from the sky outside of Magnolia.

"What is that?" Lucy said.

"What's happening?" Wendy said.

"Wendy!"

"Gladio is that you?" Wendy said.

"What was that, Wendy?" Erza asked. Wendy was talking to Gladio, but she seemed shocked.

"Guys, Gladio says that energy is coming from the world we were just from. That energy we're seeing now is acting as a bridge between our two worlds." Wendy said. "We're about to receive some unwelcome visitors." All of them got ready for whatever was coming. Suddenly, several rays of light shot from that energy bridge and they all crashed across from them. They waited for the dust to settle and saw it was the eight etherious.

"It's them again!" Laxus said.

"The etherious!" Gajeel said.

"So the lot of you are still alive." Kyoka said. "That's disappointing. Mard Geer's sacrifice has been demeaned a little, but he did all for our lord."

"I'm glad they're still around. It just means we get to have our own fun with them." Jackal said.

"What are all of you doing here? Mard Geer is gone. Natsu beat him." Sting said.

"Speaking of Natsu, what have you all done with him? Why wasn't he brought back with us?" Rogue said.

"I'm sure you all have questions and you all will have answers." The etherious cleared the way and showed Zeref.

"You!" Gray said as he remembered what Zeref did to his father.

"Is that Zeref?" Juvia asked.

"That's him." Lucy said.

"What are you all doing here? Answer us." Erza said.

"Of course. We are simply here to bring an end to this miserable world of yours." Zeref said so casually. "This world has gone on long enough. It is time I bring it to an end and the etherious that I created will aid me in that cause."

"You created the etherious?" Erik said.

"Where's Natsu?" Lucy said. "What have you done with him?"

"See for yourself." Zeref said as he and the others cleared the way for someone else. All of them were surprised because Natsu was standing right there with them. Only he looked a little different. He had a darker look on his face and his arms looked like claws.

"Natsu?" Lucy said.

"Natsu, what are you doing with them?" Gray said.

"Natsu? Is that who I use to be?"

"Natsu, stop fooling around." Laxus said.

"Fools." Zeref said. "The Natsu you know is gone. I've recreated him and gave him new power so he can rule by my side. Mard Geer and Silver did their parts. Now, it's his time."

"You're kidding." Gajeel said.

"He has to be. There's no way the Natsu we all know would join forces with you, even if you are his brother." Sting said.

"This is no joke. The human friend you all had is no more." Kyoka said. "He is your doom. He is your undoing. He is the younger brother of our beloved maker. He is E.N.D."

"E.N.D.?" Wendy questioned.

"I think they're telling the truth. Just look at him." Erik said. "He doesn't even look the same. Just look at his eyes." All of them looked in the eyes and they didn't see the same Natsu they all know in there.

"What did they do to him?!" Lucy said.

"Enough. Destroy them!" E.N.D. said.

"I don't think so!" All of them were surprised as smoke grenades were tossed between them. Keyes swung his staff with his power and cleared the area, but all of them were gone.

"They escape!" Franmalth said.

"What shall we do?" Seilah asked.

"What do you think, brother?" Zeref asked.

"Find them. Eliminate them as well as any human you come across." E.N.D. said. All of them agreed and they all spread out and began hunting humans down and Natsu is in charge of it all.

…..

A Van

"Thanks for the save, Jellal." Erik said.

"No problem." Jellal said. Just when it seemed like they were all in trouble, Jellal with Ultear and Meldy arrived and saved them. The three of them managed to get everyone in a van and all of them are driving away.

"How did you know we were in need of some help?" Lucy asked.

"We all saw some strange lights coming from the lake." Meldy said.

"When we went to investigate, we all saw what was going on." Ultear said. "There are still a few things we don't understand. Why was Natsu standing with those creatures?"

"Erik, care to explain? I did asked you to keep an eye on things." Jellal said.

"It's a long story." Erik said. As they were all driving away, they explained everything as to what was going on. They told them about Zeref, the other world, and the etherious.

"I see." Jellal said. "From what you told me, it sounds like Zeref planned all of this."

"You think?" Gray said.

"Yes. I think he was after Natsu all along." Jellal said. "He gathered info on his enemies, which would be you, but I think he was also watching Natsu. He had Natsu believe he lost his friends so it would be easier for him to manipulate. Now we need to figure out how he's controlling Natsu and what he's after."

"Not to mention stopping this." Ultear said.

"Natsu…" Lucy said as she was worried about him like everyone else. As they drove off, Kyoka moved across the rooftops.

"I found them!" Kyoka said and was ready to attack, but something was tossed at her and stopped her with her facing someone. "Who are you?"

"Kagura. I am from Mermaid Heel."

"Look. It's Kagura!" Wendy said.

"Kagura?" Erza questioned.

"I may have called for some help." Meldy said.

…

Torafuzar

"What is this?" Torafuzar asked as Macbeth and Sorano stood in his way.

"We can't allow you to go any further." Sorano said.

"Yes. This is where it ends for you." Macbeth said.

…

Tempester

"Where are they?" Tempester asked. He heard a cling sound and saw a baseball coming at him, but he was able to catch it. He saw Orga was the one who hit it

"Nice catch. Now let's see if you have what it takes to beat me." Orga said.

"Big mistake." Tempester said.

…

Seilah

Seilah crossed path with Rufus and Rufus was willing to fight as well.

"You are aware of the mistake you're making, don't you?" Seilah said. "You and your friends are no match for us."

"We have yet to see that." Rufus said.

…

Keyes

"What is this?" Keyes questioned as he was faced with Lyon and Chelia.

"I can't believe we're about to face an actual skeleton." Chelia said.

"It doesn't matter. Fairy Tail is in need of our help." Lyon said.

…

Ezel

"You've got to be kidding me. You're actually trying to take me on?" Ezel said as the one standing in his way was Richard and Sawyer.

"You better believe it. We're going to run all over you." Sawyer said.

"Indeed. Today, we fight for what's right and not our selfish reasons." Richard said.

…

Jackal

"Who are you two?" Jackal asked as he was faced with Yukino and Minerva.

"We can't allow you to harm our friends." Yukino said.

"That's right. If you want to go after Fairy Tail, you'll have to get through us first." Minerva said.

"Fine with me." Jackal said as he loves to terrorize humans.

…..

Franmalth

"A bald monk?" Franmalth said as he was faced with Jura. "I wonder how much your energy will cost. I guess I'm about to find out."

"You certainly are a strange creature, but Fairy Tail is in need of some help." Jura said. "My apologies, but I won't allow you to go any further."

….

Jellal

"You called our friends for some help?" Erza said.

"Indeed. When they heard you were in need of some help, they all came over and agreed to help." Jellal said. "You all have a way of connecting with people." Suddenly, the van stopped.

"It's Natsu!" Ultear said. All of them looked ahead and saw Natsu was right in front of them. "We won't be able to outrun him." Jellal knew what he needed to do.

"Ultear, take everyone back to the guild." Jellal said as he got out of the van. "I'll take care of this." Erza didn't like this and stepped out to stop him.

"Jell, you can't." Erza said.

"I can't let you fight your friend. None of you." Jellal said. "Besides, this is my chance to return the favor. Natsu saved me from darkness. Now it's my turn to save him." Erza could see there was no stopping him.

"Be careful." Erza said as she kissed him and got back in. The van drove off and that just left the two of them.

"So you drew the short straw?" Natsu said.

"Come on, Natsu. We all know this isn't you." Jellal said.

"I am E.N.D. If you stand in my way, I will destroy you." He held out his arm and it turned into a duel disk.

'I can do this. Natsu saved me. Now it's my turn.' Jellal thought as he activated the duel disk. Everyone got ready for their duel as it's a battle for their world.

"Duel!"

"So the showdown begins." Zeref said as he stood at the top of a building and watched the duel between E.N.D. and Jellal.

"I'm first!" E.N.D. said. "I summon Fire Demon Iron Fist." He summoned Iron Fist, but it looked darker and more demonic with him having 1600atk points. "I'm also going to activate the END Runes field spell." A magic circle with runes appeared around them. "I end my turn."

"It looks like Natsu's deck has been corrupted by darkness as well." Jellal said as he saw how serious it was. "It's my turn! I summon Heavenly Chariot." A black and gold chariot with a horse came out with 1000atk points. "Thanks to its special ability, I can summon another monster. I summon Heavenly Pleiades." He summoned out a gold and black armored warrior and it had 1600atk points. "Next, I'm activating Double Summon. This allows me to summon a monster again. I summon Planetary Circuit." Jellal summoned a solar system model and it had 1000atk points. "Since I have a light attribute monster, its level increased by one making it level four. I tune level four Planetary Circuit with level four Pleiades!" His model turned to four green circles and came around Pleiades and a beam of light shot through. "I synchro summon Apollo Warrior Saryu!" Jellal summoned a red armored warrior with a flame sword and sun shield and had 3000atk points.

"No bad." Zeref said.

"I now activated Sainted Card. Since there's a Heavenly monster out, we can draw until we have six cards." Jellal said. They drew there cards and Jellal was making his next move. "I activate Tag Out. This spell allows me to switch one monster on the field with another in my deck. So I'll switch my chariot with Heavenly Moon." He summoned a glowing globe and it had 800atk points. "Now I use its special ability. By sending Polymerization in my deck to the graveyard, I can fusion summon. I fuse my moon with Heavenly Jiu Leixing and fusion summon Diana Warrior Luro!" He summoned a blue armored warrior with a moon shield and a glowing sword and had 3000atk points. 'I hope this works. If I don't bring Natsu back, we could lose him forever.' He thought for he's not just fighting for the world, but to save his friend.

To Be Continued….


	19. Demonic Fire Pt1

The world is in danger by the etherious and Magnolia might be the first city to fall if they aren't stopped. Darkness is falling over the city and Natsu has been transformed into E.N.D. with him leading the charge. Jellal managed to save Lucy and the others and were brought back to the guild where everyone else was. Makarov saw the van pull up and everyone climbed out.

"There you all are!" Makarov said.

"Hey, Gramps." Laxus said.

"Where have you all been? Do you know what's going on?" Makarov said.

"It's a long story." Ultear said. They're all in a dire situation, but Lucy and Erza are really worried about their guys.

'Natsu…' Lucy thought.

'Jellal, I hope you're safe.' Erza thought.

…

Jellal

Jellal was dueling in hopes of ridding E.N.D. and bring back, Natsu. All of Fairy Tail's friends are trying to help defend their home, but it may not be easy. E.N.D. had Fire Demon Iron Fist with 1600atk points and his END Runes. Jellal had his Apollo Warrior Saryu and Diana Warrior Luro with both having 3000atk points.

"Luro's ability activates." Jellal said. "Since I summoned him with Saryu on the field, Luro is automatically destroyed." His warrior was pulled into a vortex. "Come on, Natsu. Remember. I used this same combo on you the last time we dueled. Snap out of it."

"I am not Natsu anymore." E.N.D. said.

"Maybe this will jog your memory. Saryu, attack Iron Fist!" Jellal said. Saryu swung his fire sword down and destroyed Iron Fist. "That should jog your memory." Jellal thought that worked, but E.N.D. didn't lose any life points. "Why didn't you lose life points?"

"It's my END Runes field spell. When a Fire Demon is attacked, all I have to do is send another one to the graveyard and I take no damage." E.N.D. said. "So I discarded Fire Demon Winger and I took no damage." Zeref was watching from above and found this all amusing.

"You can try and save Natsu, but you'll keep failing." Zeref said.

"I end my turn." Jellal said.

"My turn!" E.N.D. said and drew his card. "I activate Fire Fusion. Now I can fuse two fire attribute monsters. I fuse Dragon Girl with Burning Beauty. I fusion summon Dragon Lady Draqua!" He fused his two monsters and summoned Draqua with her having 2300atk points. "I activate the equip spell, Evil Fire. Now when Draqua attacks, she'll gain an extra 1000atk points and her attack can't be stopped. Now I activate Draqua's ability. You take 300 points of damage for every card on the field. I count four. That's 1200 points of damage." Draqua caused fire to fall from her wings and slammed against Jellal and his life points dropped to 2800. "Draqua, destroy his warrior! **Raining Fire**!" Draqua's attack points rose to 3300 and unleashed more fireballs with Luro being destroyed and Jellal's life points dropping to 2500.

"Nice try, but whenever Saryu is destroyed, Luro can take his place from my graveyard." Jellal said and his moon warrior came back.

"I place two cards facedown and end my turn." E.N.D. said with Draqua's attack points returning to normal.

'What's he up to?' Jellal thought. 'If he had those cards set earlier, he could have dealt even more damage. I better be careful.' "I draw! I think I'll start by having Luro take out Draqua!" Luro swung his sword and destroyed Draqua with E.N.D.'s life points dropping to 3300, but he didn't even flinch.

"I activate my trap!" E.N.D. said. "END Burner. Since you destroyed one of my fire monsters, I can destroy one card on your field." Flames surrounded Luro and was destroyed.

"Did you forget this too? Whenever Luro is destroyed, Saryu can return." Jellal said.

"Not if I activate my other trap before that kicks in." E.N.D. said. "I activate END Demise. If my life points are greater than yours, but the difference is less than a thousand, I can take two cards in your graveyard and remove them from play. So your two warriors will not be coming back."

"No!" Jellal said. His two cards came out and had no choice, but to put them away. "So that's why he didn't set those cards before using Draqua's ability. He was planning to get rid of both of them at once."

"Anything else you like to try? You already attacked." E.N.D. said. Jellal refused to surrender. He kept fighting.

"I better defend myself or I'm finished. I'll summon my Heavenly Angel in defense mode." Jellal said as he summoned an angel wearing black and gold robes and had 1200def points. "I'll also place a face-down to end my turn."

"My turn!" E.N.D. said as he drew his next card.

"Natsu, you've got to snap out of this before it's too late." Jellal said. "We both know this isn't you. You have to break free of whatever Zeref has done to you."

"How many times do I have to keep telling you foolish humans that the boy you knew is gone?" E.N.D. said. "I may have been a human once, but my brother has made me into an etherious, the superior race."

"There's no way that can be true!" Jellal said. "Natsu, you have to remember who you really are. I know what happened back in that other world you, Erza, and your friends were in. I know it must have been horrible seeing your friends disappear before your eyes, but you saw yourself that they're alive. I think Zeref organized the whole thing so he could make you what you are right now. He tricked you."

"What?" E.N.D. said. Just saying that gave Jellal a little hope that he was getting through to the real Natsu.

"Natsu, you were never one to give into darkness. You never gave into misery. You always believed there was a chance for hope." Jellal said. "The Underworld Lords were stopped because of you. You showed how naïve and foolish I was and saved me from darkness while saving the world. When Jiemma was going to change the world where the strong survive and the weak perish, you stopped him. You changed Sabertooth to care for others. So I refuse to believe the Natsu we all know is gone. Your so-called brother tricked you and turned you into something else."

"I should be thanking him." E.N.D. said. Jellal wasn't expecting him to say that. "Why should I care if some pathetic humans disappeared in front of me?"

"I guess I should have known that wouldn't get through to him. They were in front of him earlier, but that didn't do anything." Jellal said. "Had to try."

"If my brother did what he did to make me what I am right now, I'm glad. He turned me into something superior." E.N.D. said.

"Natsu, you can't really mean that." Jellal said.

"I keep telling you that I am E.N.D." Zeref watched Jellal's attempts all be for nothing and liked it.

"You can try and reach to the Natsu you believe all you like. It won't matter." Zeref said. "It wasn't easy doing this to my own brother, but I had to change him so he can rule over my etherious, so my etherious would accept him. All so he can stand by me. You can't save him because there's nothing in him you really can save."

"The destruction of your world and the human race is underway and your destruction begins." E.N.D. said. "I activate END Melt. By taking a Fire Demon, like Fire Demon Iron Fist, in my graveyard and removing it from play, I can draw a card for every two levels. Since Iron Fist is level four, I can draw two cards." E.N.D. drew those two cards and Jellal knew to be ready for whatever comes. "I summon Fire Demon Talon!" He summoned another one of Natsu's fighters with flames shaped like talons around the feet, but was also more demonic with it having 1500atk points. "Show him our ruthless power. Show him we don't know anything about mercy. Fire Demon Talon, attack his Heavenly Angel! **Demon Blaze Stomp**!" His demon fighter attacked and gave Jellal's angel a powerful kick that destroyed it.

"I'm still here." Jellal said.

"Not for much longer." E.N.D. said. "Speaking of that, I wonder how your little friends are doing. Let's take a look." E.N.D. had flames arrive and showed images of Jellal and Fairy Tail's friends.

…

Kagura

None of it looked good. Kagura was blown back and beaten by Kyoka.

"I have failed. How shameful." Kagura said. Her body began to glow and she was turned to stardust.

…

Macbeth and Sorano

Machbeth and Sorano didn't do that much better. They were beaten as well.

"That wasn't any fun." Sorano said.

"Erik, it looks like it's up to you. Best of luck." Macbeth said as the two of them were turned to stardust as well.

…

Richard and Sawyer

They were dropping like flies as they were no match for the might the etherious have. Richard and Sawyer lost their duel as well.

"How tragic. Forgive us our friends." Richard said.

"That didn't go well at all. I guess this is it." Sawyer said. The two of them were turned into stardust as well.

….

Lyon and Chelia

Lyon and Chelia lost as well. It's been nothing, but disaster for all of them.

"Sorry, Wendy." Chelia said.

"Gray, it looks like it's up to you and your friends. Good luck." Lyon said. Both of them were finished as well as they went with everyone else.

….

Orga

Partners didn't work and single matches weren't that much better either. Orga lost his match with him being blown back.

"Oh man. That didn't go well. At least I went out with a bang." Orga said and was turned to stardust like the others.

…..

Rufus

Rufus lost as well with him bouncing against the ground.

"Well…this is a memory I won't soon forget. I just wish the result was different." Rufus said and joined the others.

…

Yukino and Minerva

The girls lost as well. Not even Sabertooth's best was a match against them.

"Forgive us, Fairy Tail." Yukino said.

"Sting and Rogue, avenge us." Minerva said and it was the end for both of them as well.

…

Jura

Even Jura wasn't a match for them. He stayed strong, but he collapsed to the ground and it was the end for him.

"Such dark power." Jura said. "Fairy Tail, I know you will be the ones that will put an end to this." Jura turned to stardust and that was it for all of them.

…

Jellal

"No!" Jellal said as he couldn't believe what he saw through those flames. "They were all defeated? Natsu, how could you let this happen when you're in charge of those guys? Those humans were your friends."

"The boy you know is gone." E.N.D. said. "Your friends are gone, but they'll have some use. Their energy is being syphoned that will help us conquer this world. You'll be joining them. I am your doom! I am your undoing! I am you end!" Jellal could see that he isn't getting through to the real Natsu, but after seeing what happened to his friends, feeling it's his fault for getting them involved, he has to be the one to stop this.

"My friend is lost, but I do see the enemy in front of me." Jellal said as he was now focused on winning.

"Yes. One that will destroy you! As well as this world!" E.N.D. said.

To Be Continued….


	20. Demonic Fire Pt2

Things are getting dark for Magnolia. Especially at Fairy Tail. Makarov and the others were told what became of Natsu and none of them could really believe it. Natsu was always one of the more dedicated members of the guild, but now he might be the enemy.

"What a sad story. I can't believe Natsu fell into darkness." Makarov said.

"None of us can really believe it." Mirajane said.

"I never would have guessed that Natsu would be the one to turn against us." Cana said. No one really did.

"Don't talk like that." Gray said. "This is Natsu we're talking about. Jellal thinks Zeref just tricked him into thinking we were all gone for good when all Zeref really did was bring us back here."

"Gray's right." Erza said. "Zeref must have some sort of spell or something over Natsu. It's the only thing that makes sense. Natsu would never just turn his back on any of us."

"I like to believe that too, but you saw how he looked at us." Laxus said. "That look in his eyes showed that he didn't seem to give a care for us anymore."

"That's enough!" Lucy shouted and got everyone's attention. "Stop talking like Natsu isn't Natsu anymore. Natsu is still in there. I refuse to believe that the Natsu we all knew is gone. He has to be in there. He just has to be. Shouldn't we do something to save him? Isn't that what we would do in Fairy Tail? Isn't that what Natsu would do for any of us?" All of them had those words sink in and they all agreed.

"Yeah. Natsu is one of us. We should be trying to help him." Lisanna said. "He would do the same if it was any of us."

"Indeed." Freed said. "We all should fight either way. Magnolia is our home and we should defend it from these etherious and this Zeref."

"Spoken like a man!" Elfman said. Everyone was agreed that they should fight. Meanwhile, Ultear was trying to work on a tablet.

"Ultear, what are you doing?" Meldy asked.

"Trying to get a video fee or some sort of status condition on Jellal and the others." Ultear said. "I think I got something."

"You do?" Erza said. She was worried about Jellal and wanted to know how he was doing.

"Yes." Ultear said as a video fee of Jellal's duel against E.N.D. "Oh no. It doesn't look good for Jellal."

…

Jellal

Jellal was in a serious situation. He tried reaching the real Natsu, but E.N.D. was still in control. Now he was focused on winning and stopping this madness after he saw his friends fall, but it wasn't looking good. Jellal had nothing, but one face-down on the field. E.N.D. had Fire Demon Talon at 1500atk points with his END Runes. Jellal had 2500LP while E.N.D. had 3300.

"Are you ready to surrender yet? You have no chance against me." E.N.D. said.

"Not a chance. Maybe if I beat you, this terror will be over and I get the real Natsu back." Jellal said.

"Very well. Your demise would have been less painful, but it makes no difference." E.N.D. said as he placed a face-down.

"Here goes!" Jellal said and drew his next card. 'Natsu must still be in there. He just has to be, but I can't seem to reach him. Maybe if I beat him he'll listen and I only have one card in my deck that can help me now.' "I activate my Revived Miracle trap. By cutting my life points in half, I can summon two monsters in defense mode, but they are trapped in defense mode and their defense points drop to zero. I'll bring back my Heavenly Moon and Pleiades." Jellal's life points dropped to 1250, but his two monsters came out with no defense points.

"Seems like you sacrificed a lot for nothing." E.N.D. said.

"Don't be so sure. I activate Convergence of Angels!" Jellal said. "This spell card takes the level of all my monsters and adds them together. Then, their levels become the total."

"So with Heavenly Moon a level three and Heavenly Pleiades a level four, they can become level seven." Zeref said. "I wonder what he has planned with two level seven monsters."

"I now overlay my level seven Pleiades and Moon!" Jellal said as the two became yellow energy and a vortex opened up. "I build the overlay network to xyz summon!" A great flash of light occurred and something was towering over them. "With powers from the great beyond, this warrior is the mightiest and an embodied legend. I xyz summon rank seven Ouranos Warrior Sparta!" A large warrior glowing gold with black armor stood high over them with 3500atk points with two overlay units circling around it.

"That's quite the monster." Zeref said.

"This is the strongest monster I have in my deck and he will finish this." Jellal said. "Sparta, attack with **Great Heaven's Wrath**!" His warrior pulled out a great sword and swung down at Talon.

"That won't work thanks to END Runes. It doesn't matter how strong your monster is." E.N.D. said. "All I have to do is send Fire Demon Crushing Fang to the graveyard and I take no damage." Talon was crushed down and destroyed in a great explosion, but E.N.D. didn't take any damage from it.

"It doesn't matter because you don't have anything that will bring down Sparta." Jellal said. "I place one card facedown. Now that we reached the end phase, I can use Sparta's special ability and give away one overlay unit." One of Sparta's overlay units entered his sword and waited for his next attack.

"Is something suppose to happen?" E.N.D. said.

"Once Sparta runs out overlay units you'll take damage for every attack point he has." Jellal said. 'I can do this. All I have to do is keep his life points lower than Sparta's attack points until the end of my next turn.'

"I see. He's hoping to end this in a single strike." Zeref said. "Let's see how you get out of this one, little brother."

"It's my turn and I think it's time I put an end to this." E.N.D. said as he drew his next card and liked what he got. "I activate my Wisps of END. This spell gives me a demon wisp token for every Fire Demon in my graveyard. I have three. That means I get three tokens." He had three wisps with red eyes, but none of them had any attack points.

"What is he planning?" Jellal said.

"I now sacrifice two of my tokens and summon Igneel the Fire Demon Dragon!" Natsu said. Two of his tokens erupted into a giant flame and a being of pure evil emerged. Igneel arrived, but he look darker with his lower body and the inner part of his wings black and he as well had a blank look in his eyes. He did remain to have 2500atk points.

"Even Igneel has been corrupted?" Jellal said as he couldn't believe it. Igneel released a terrifying roar. "I can't believe one of the seven legendary dragons have been corrupted by darkness as well."

"Behold the beast that will destroy you." E.N.D. said. "The fear will swallow you and will overcome you."

"I don't think so. Sparta still has a thousand more attack points than Igneel." Jellal said. "If Igneel's ability is the same, you don't have a monster to give Igneel power."

"I don't need to when I can just make your monster weaker." E.N.D. said. "I activate Cursed Merge. This trap will sacrifice one of my monsters and your monster will have its attack points changed to the monster I sacrificed. I sacrifice my last token." E.N.D.'s last token shot at Sparta and caused a great explosion upon contact. Sparta really felt that attack as all his attack points dropped all the way to zero.

"No! He has no power!" Jellal said.

"That means he's powerless and he can't protect you!" E.N.D. said.

"We'll see about that. I still have one trick up my sleeve." Jellal said. "I activate Intrigue Shield!" A giant shield emerged and was given to Sparta. "Attack now if you want, but it won't matter. As long as Sparta stays in attack mode, he can block an attack. I won't take damage and you can't destroy him. That will keep me safe for next turn." 'That should by me some time until I can find a way to restore Sparta's attack points.'

"There is no next turn for you!" E.N.D. said. "I activate Crushing Fang's ability from the graveyard! When he's there, I can place him at the bottom of my deck! That also allows me to destroy your trap card!" Jellal wasn't expecting that as a fiery mouth came around his trap and destroyed it.

"Without that, there's nothing I can do to stop his attack!" Jellal said.

"This is where it ends for you!" E.N.D. claims. "Igneel, destroy Sparta and him! Destroy everything he fought for! **Demon Dragon Roar**!" Igneel unleashed a powerful flame that blasted Jellal's monster. It was destroyed and Jellal got caught in the fire as all his life points dropped to nothing. It left a trail of destruction. E.N.D. walked over to Jellal as was against the ground beaten.

"Natsu…" Jellal said as he tried to reach out to him. "Don't let this corrupt you. Your friends are waiting for you."

"Away with you!" E.N.D. shouted. Jellal's body glowed and he was turned to stardust. E.N.D. watched as it all floated in the air and another human has met his end.

"Excellent work." Zeref said as he walked over to him. "That's another problem dealt with."

"These humans are no problem. They are nothing more than insects just waiting to be crushed." E.N.D. said. "I want more. I want more destruction. I want more chaos. The remnants of my old life still linger and I want them all destroyed."

"You will have it. No one is really a match for you." Zeref said. With him believing Natsu was the best, victory seemed at hand. "There isn't anyone who can stop us."

…

Fairy Tail

"No! Jellal!" Erza said as she saw what happened to him. Seeing him disappear like that broke her heart. Erza dropped to her knees and she couldn't believe this happened to him.

"I'm sorry, Erza." Wendy said as she placed her hands on her shoulders.

"I can't believe Jellal as actually beaten." Meldy said as they all were a little dishearten of what has become of him.

"I'm afraid he isn't the only one who has fallen." Ultear said. "I tried checking in on everyone else, but it isn't good. All of them have been defeated and not a single etherious was."

"Are you serious?! People like Jura and Lyon were beaten by those monsters?!" Gray said.

"Including our friends? Minerva? Yukino? Rufus? Orga?" Sting said.

"What about Macbeth and the others? Are they okay?" Erik said. Ultear remained silent and that's all they really needed to know. Hearing how their friends have all fallen hurt some of them.

"It's only getting worse." Ultear said. "Those etherious aren't stopping their attack. They're going for every human they see and they're all vanishing just like Jellal and the others. Not even innocent civilians, people who aren't duelists are being spared."

"They're attacking everyone in sight? Those monsters." Juvia said.

"They don't seem to know the meaning of mercy. In mere hours, all of Magnolia could be lost and I don't think their terror will end there." Meldy said.

"That's why we're going to do something about this." Lucy said as she stepped forward. "We're going to fight. We'll defend our home, save Natsu, and stop Zeref." All of them agreed. They either fight for their world or fall like everyone else.


	21. Follow my Command Pt1

Jellal and Fairy Tail's friends failed to defeat E.N.D. or any of the etherious. Now they're all gone, their energies taken away, all to aid the etherious conquer of Earth. So it's up to everyone else, but the etherious are so powerful.

"We have to strike while there's still something to fight for." Erza said. "We don't know entirely how strong this enemy is. We never faced any of them while we were in the other world. So there's no telling what we're up against."

"We also have to strike soon. They're attacking every human they see." Gray said.

"What's happening to all those people?" Lisanna asked. "Are they all really gone forever?"

"Not quite." Ultear said. "I analyzed the flow of energy and it seems like all their energy is being stored in that pillar of energy. According to Wendy, it acts like a bridge to the two worlds. That's what's allowing the etherious to travel into this world. It also aids them spreading their power."

"So if we defeat the etherious, everyone will come back." Makarov said.

"That's a big if." Levy said. "We don't know for sure since we haven't dealt with this kind of power. This might be our more dangerous fight ever."

"Yes, you might be right about that Levy. That doesn't mean we're not going to fight." Gajeel said. "We have to at least try. I would rather go down with a fight instead of just hiding away and waiting for the inevitable."

"We all feel the same." Makarov said. "If they want a fight, will make them regret they even came here!" Everyone cheered at that and were ready for the fight of their world.

"You count on us." Sting said.

"Indeed. Some of our friends have fallen and we desire to have payback." Rogue said. Everyone joined in the spirit of rising and taking back their home. All except for Erik who just remained back. While all of them were coming up with a plan, Erik was slipping out, but his girlfriend, Kinana noticed it. Erik stepped outside and was going out on his own.

"Erik, wait!" Kinana called as she hurried over to him. "Where are you going?"

"Not my style to just sit around while others make up their minds." Erik said. "Those monsters took some of my closest friends and I'm going to get payback."

"Erik, everyone feels the same." Kinana said. "It's dangerous for you to go alone. If something happened to you, I…" Kinana didn't even want to think of what would happens as tears started to form, but Erik cleared them away.

"I'll be fine. I'll be back when I take one of them down." Erik promised and ran off. Kinana really hoped so.

…

E.N.D.

E.N.D. looked down upon what was once his old home in his old life. Now, as he currently is, he wants nothing more than to see it destroyed.

"Taking in the last moments this city has? This did use to be your home?" Zeref asked.

"It doesn't mean much to me anymore than it did in my miserable human life." E.N.D. said.

"So be it." Zeref said. "Shall we head over to that old guild of yours? Your old friends are probably there and are waiting for you. We could take them all out in one strike." E.N.D. was about to do just that, but he sensed something off in another direction. "What is it?"

"I sense a dragon." E.N.D. said.

….

Seilah

"Run for your lives! She's dangerous!" The people of Magnolia were running in fear since the etherious began their attack. They go after every human they see. Seilah walked down a street as humans were running from her.

"Run all you like. It won't help you." Seilah said as her eyes glowed blue and caused a series of explosions with people turning to stardust from it. "Humans are so fragile. They run in fear at the slightest of things. They act like everything is happy, but they act like the end of the world is coming when something goes on. In the stories of demons, happy ever after doesn't really exist."

"How sad. I cry if I actually cared." Seilah looked to the side and saw Erik showed himself.

"I know who you are. You possess one of the legendary dragons." Seilah said. "Are you actually facing me by yourself? How about you just tell me where the other dragons are so I can take you all out?"

"Not going to happen. I have a girl and she's waiting for me to come back to her." Erik said as he held out his duel disk. "You and your etherious freaks took some of my closest friends and I want some payback."

"You mean some of those humans who have already fallen. You won't have to worry." Seilah said as a duel disk with an eye on it came on her arm. "You'll be joining them shortly." Both of them activated their duel disks and were ready to take action.

"Let's duel!" Both of them said as they had 4000LP. The real battle is about to begin with Erik's mark glowing.

…..

Fairy Tail

Everyone back at the guild was coming up with some sort of plan of attack. Suddenly, the dragon marks on Wendy and the guys started to glow.

"My mark!" Wendy said as all of them noticed.

"It's Erik!" Laxus said. All of them looked around and noticed Erik wasn't around. "Where is he?"

"He went on ahead." Kinana said seeing no reason to hide it. "He must be dueling right now."

"By himself? Is he nuts?" Gray said.

"Let me see if I can find him." Ultear said as she tried to get a video of him.

"Hurry. Who knows what could be happening." Meldy said. All of them were hoping for the best because they might be their world's last line of defense.

…..

Erik

"I do admire how you are driven by revenge, but the revenge of a human will fail miserable against the might of an etherious such as myself." Seilah said.

"Quit your yapping and draw your cards." Erik said.

"Very well. If you insist." Seilah said and drew her first card. "I'll start by summoning my Macro Eye in defense mode." A yellow eye in a hand came on the field with 800def points. "Since I happen to have a monster on the field, I can send one card in my hand to the graveyard and special summon another one to the field." She discarded a monster and another joined the field in defense mode. "I'll place one card facedown to end my turn."

"It's my turn!" Erik said and drew his card. "I'll start by summoning my Twin Headed Snake in attack mode." Erik called out his snake with two heads and came on the field with 1400atk points. "Next, I'm activating my Thought Listener continuous spell. This spell will allow me see what's in your hand as long as it stays on the field."

"Look all you want." Seilah said. "Knowing what's in my hand won't help you." Images of Seilah's cards appeared over her for Erik to see. He saw a spell with another monster.

"Brain Control and Mind Parasite. Those two cards could take control of my monsters." Erik said. "I better be careful. Twin Headed Snake, show that freaky hand why you don't mess with a snake!" His snake leaped at one of the Macro Hands and destroyed it. "I place two cards facedown and end my turn." 'Luckily, if she tries to destroy Thought Listener to hide her hand, I can use my Duplicate Copy trap. Since I have another Thought Listener in my hand, she can't destroy my Thought Listener.' Erik thought.

"It's my turn." Seilah said and drew her next card, but Erik saw a spell he's never seen before.

"What is that spell? I've never seen that before." Erik said.

"I'll gladly show you." Seilah said. "I activate my Controlling Waves. By sending a spell card in my hand to the graveyard, I can take a spell card on your field and use it as it was my own."

"You can what?!" Erik said. Seilah discarded her Brain Control and Erik's Thought Listener switched sides.

"Now I can see what's in your hand, but you can't see what's in mine." Seilah said. Erik's cards were revealed and she saw Thought Listener as well as Rocky Boa. "So you have a copy of the same card. It doesn't make much difference."

"So what? You don't have a monster strong enough to take on my snake." Erik said.

"I don't need to." Seilah said. "I summon Mind Parasite in attack mode." She summoned a bug that looks like a brain, but it has no attack points. "Now I activate Mind Parasite's ability. It can equip itself on your monster." The parasite jumped and shrank so it attacked itself on Erik's snake.

"What are you planning?" Erik said.

"You're about to find out." Seilah said. "During my battle phase, a monster that is equipped with Mind Parasite can attack on my command whether they like it or not."

"What?!" Erik said.

"Twin Headed Snake, attack your master. I command it." Seilah said. Erik's snake turned to him and both heads bit him with his life points dropping to 2600. "Now I activate Macro Eye's ability. During the battle phase, I can switch the battle position of one monster. So your snake is going to defense mode." Erik's snake switched to defense mode and it has only 600def points.

"Is that all you got?" Erik said.

"Not quite." Seilah said. "I activate the Unwilling Battle trap. When a monster changes battle positions and I have at least one monster on the field, I can trap that monster in that battle position until I say it can be switched." A ray of light shot from the trap and trapped Erik's snake.

"Are you saying I can't use my snake to attack?" Erik said.

"That's right." Seilah said. "I enjoy taking control of my opponent's own cards and having them turn against their own master."

"I get it. So that's your battle style. You take control of your opponent's cards and use them as if they were your own." Erik said.

"Indeed. I never get tired of it. This duel will be over before you know it." Seilah said.

…

Fairy Tail

"No. This isn't good." Erza said as they were all watching.

"If this keeps up, all of Erik's cards will be used against him." Gray said. "If he loses, he might be lost just like the others. Now won't be good seeing as how we might need him and his dragon."

"We're just going to hope for the best. It's too late for us to really do anything." Lucy said. Kinana hoped so as she prayed for Erik to make it out of this.

…..

Erik

"Taking my own cards and using them against me? That's a little cowardly if you ask me." Erik said.

"Good thing your opponent means little to nothing to me." Seilah said.

"We'll see about that." Erik said, but he might in a serious situation. If his cards are used against him, he might not be able to defend himself. 'Of course, I might be in a bind here. If I lose my best cards to her, she'll end up being right. I'll be joining the others and that could be that for all of us.' He thought as he could see trouble coming his way all under Seilah's command.

To Be Continued…..


	22. Follow My Command Pt2

The battle has only begun as the fate of Magnolia, and possibly the whole world, lies in the outcome. Many have faced the etherious and fallen, but that doesn't mean all hope is lost. Erik chose to face the etherious himself and that's just what he's doing against Seilah.

"Are you ready to admit you can't win?" Seilah said as she was confident. She had 4000LP with Macro Eye at 800def points and had control of Erik's Thought Listener. She also had Unwilling Battle keeping Erik's Twin Headed Snake trapped in defense mode until she says so. She also had Mind Parasite equipped to that snake.

"Not a chance." Erik said as he had his snake at 600def points with two face-downs and 2600LP.

"You're well aware I can take control of your cards however I can." Seilah said. "From what I'm seeing in your hand, you can't stop me."

"I guess that really all depends on what I get next. I draw!" Erik said, but with Seilah in control of Erik's Thought Listener, she can see its Pot of Greed.

"You can't hide anything. You're going to activate that spell, aren't you?" Seilah said.

"You bet. I activate Pot of Greed. That allows me to draw two cards." Erik said and saw it was Venom Value and Hydra Snake. "This will help. I activate Venom Value. Since I have a reptile on the field, I can destroy one monster. Say goodbye to Macro Hand." His snake shot some poison and it destroyed her monster. "I'm also going to activate the second Thought Listener in my hand. You may not have any cards in your hand now, but I'll see what you draw like you're seeing my cards. Now I summon Rocky Boa in defense mode." His rock snake came on the field with 2300def points. "As long as this snake is on the field, all my snakes will gain 300 extra defense points." Twin Headed Snake's defense points increase to 900.

"That isn't much better." Seilah said. "Strange why you didn't summon Hydra Snake and rid the field of Mind Parasite and Unwilling Battle. Is it because you wish to gather snakes in your graveyard to have it grow stronger? Maybe you set up a defense in case I take possession of another monster?"

"Come and find out. I end my turn." Erik said.

"Very well!" Seilah said and drew her next card and saw it was another Mind Parasite.

"Another parasite? That won't be useful." Erik said. "You might have my own monsters attack me with that, but you can't change their battle positions. My snakes are too tough to take each other on."

"You're right. I'll just place it in defense mode and end my turn." Seilah said as her parasite came out with 0def points.

"My turn!" Erik said and drew a monster. "I summon Phantom Snake in attack mode." His white snake in a hood rose up with 1800atk points. "Phantom Snake, take out her parasite!" Phantom Snake went on the attack and destroyed Seilah's parasite. "That should be enough."

"My turn." Seilah said and drew Stop Defense. "I think it's time I stop playing around."

"What are you going to do? You have no monsters." Erik said.

"Think again because I should thank you for destroying them." Seilah said. "Remember that card I discarded on my first turn? It was a monster….that I can resurrect it by banishing three monsters in my graveyard."

"Oh man!" Erik said.

"So I banish both Macro Eyes and Mind Parasite so that I can resurrect Macronia." Seilah said and summoned out a new monster. It was female with wild black hair and had yellow horns with markings through its body and wing-like extensions on its legs. The strange thing was that it had no attack points.

"No attack points for a level nine monster? I don't think I like this." Erik said.

"You should be afraid." Seilah said. "I activate Macronia's ability and that allows me to take control of one of your monsters once a turn." Macronia had eyes open on her hands and they shot a blue beam that took control of Phantom Snake.

"No way!" Erik said.

"I now activate Stop Defense to switch your Rocky Boa in attack mode." Seilah said. Rocky Boa switched modes and had only 600atk points. "I'll also use my Unwilling Battle to have your other snake switch to attack mode." His snake changed modes and had 1400atk points. "Once Rocky Boa is out of the way, you'll be defenseless and your own monster will attack you. Twin Headed Snake, destroy your former friend!"

"Not so fast. I activate Sound Wall!" Erik said. "If I give up 400LP for each attack, I don't' take any damage and Rocky Boa survives." Erik's life points dropped to 2200, but a sound wall stopped his snakes from turning on each other.

"I'll just have Phantom Snake attack and force you to give up more of your life points." Seilah said and Erik's own monster attacked. It hit the wall as well with Erik's life points dropping to 1800. "One other thing I should mention. As long as your monster is under my control, you won't be able to attack Macronia. I end my turn."

"Great." Erik said. "I better think of something or I could be in real trouble. I guess it all depends on what I draw. Here goes!" Erik drew his next card and they could see it was another spell. "This might help. I activate Double Tornado. For every spell and trap card I destroy on my field, I can destroy one on your field. I still need Thought Listener. So I'll destroy my face-down and destroy the Thought Listener you stole from me." Two tornados formed and destroyed both cards. "What's more is that can draw two cards." Erik drew two more cards and now Seilah can't see what they are. "Perfect. Thanks to my Twin Headed Snake, it can be used as two monsters for a tribute summon. So I'll sacrifice him and summon my Hydra Snake." He summoned out another snake with chest armor and it had 2000atk points. "With that, your trap and Mind Parasite are destroyed." Both Seilah's cards were destroyed, but she wasn't concerned. Since I have a snake in the graveyard, it gains another 100atk points." It grew an extra head and had 2100atk points.

"A mere 100atk points won't do anything." Seilah said.

"We'll see about that. I activate Poison Coating." Erik said and a purple aura came over his Hydra Snake. "This spell equipped on my Hydra Snake will prevent him from falling under your spell of controlling him and anything else you try on him."

"Yes, but in order to keep using that spell, you'll have to give up 500LP at your standby phase." Seilah said.

"That's a chance I'm willing to take." Erik said.

"Besides, your own Phantom Snake can't be destroyed by a high level monster and I won't take damage." Seilah said.

"If it's in attack mode and I have a way around that." Erik said. "I activate Doom Attack. This spell switches one monster into defense mode and if it's attack, piercing damage is caused. So I'll switch Phantom Snake in defense mode." Phantom Snake switch modes and had 1500def points. "Hydra Snake, attack now **Viper Flame Blast**!" Both heads unleashed a purple flame and blasted Phantom Snake and Seilah getting caught in it as her life points dropped to 3400. About time I did some damage. With another snake in my grave, Hydra Snake grows stronger." His snake grew another head and now had 2200atk points. "I'll also switch Rocky Boa to defense mode. That's it."

"You celebrate over a little damage? How pedestrian." Seilah said as she drew her next card and Erik could see it was another spell. "I activate Forced Drawing. For the low cost of 400LP, we both get to draw two cards." Seilah's life points dropped to 3000 and they both drew. Seilah drew two traps and one of the cards Erik drew was his dragon.

'Perfect. Cuberin. The dragon will be coming out soon, but I better be careful of those traps.' Erik thought.

"I activate Macronia's ability!" Seilah said. "I know I can't take control of your Hydra Snake, but your Rocky Boa is available." Macronia shot a beam and had Rocky Boa switch sides. "Now I can activate a trap from my hand."

"You can't do that." Erik said.

"I can when I have two monsters on the field and their total attack points are less than a thousand." Seilah said. "I activate Sacrificial Pawn. By sending a monster on my field to the graveyard, you take a thousand points of damage. Your Rocky Boa is of no other use to me." Rocky Boa was shattered and the rocks pelted against Erik and his life points dropped to 800 with him being knocked off and really feeling that. At least Hydra Snake grew another 100atk points stronger.

"I forgot how real something like this can feel." Erik said as he tried to stand.

"I place one card facedown, but you already know what it is." Seilah said.

"My turn." Erik said and drew his next card.

"Now you must pay the price for Poison Coating." Seilah said.

"I know." Erik said as his life points dropped to only 300. 'I better end this fast, but be careful about it. Her trap is Dark Possession. The minute I summon a high level monster, it will get destroyed and switch over to her field on her turn. If she takes Cuberin, I'm a goner.' He thought. 'However, that only applies to when my dragon is normal summoned. I need to special summon it.'

"Are you going to make a move or what?" Seilah said.

"Here I come. I hate to do this, but I activate Forbidden Summons." Erik said. "I destroy my spell cards so I can summon a level five or higher monster. I have to destroy Thought Listener and Poison Coating to special summon Cuberin the Poison Dragon!" Erik destroyed both of his spells and Cuberin was summoned to the field with 2600atk points. "Forbidden Summons prevents me from attacking with Cuberin this turn, but I can fix that. I activate Lethal Venom of the Snake. If I sacrifice a reptile, I can attack with a monster that couldn't. So I'll sacrifice my Hydra Snake." His snake vanished and his dragon roared.

"Even that doesn't intimidate me." Seilah said.

"We'll see because if this attack works, you'll only have 400LP left. Cuberin, attack with **Poison Breath Decade**!" Erik said. Cuberin released a blast of poison to attack.

"Pathetic. I activate the ability of Sacrificial Pawn in my graveyard!" Seilah said. "By banishing it, the defense points of the monster that was used as the sacrifice weakens the damage. Your boa had 2300def points. Macronia also survives." A force field blocked the attack and Seilah's life points dropped to 2700.

"Darn it." Erik said.

"There is nothing left for you to do." Seilah said.

"Wrong. There's still a lot for me to do." Erik said. "I believe in my deck and that faith can't be broken even by you."

"I simply do not understand humans." Seilah said. "The odds are against you, but you won't give up. Why is that?"

"It's just something I learned." Erik said. "I use to be punk who didn't care much for others. However, that all changed when I met Natsu. I learned to stand for what's right and stand for others and that means taking freaks like you down."

"Oh please. It's hopeless." Seilah said.

"If you think it's pointless to fight, then don't. Just take it." Erik said. "You will once I activate Forbidden Summons other effect. If I take it and the monster that was summoned and remove them from play, you take damage equal to his attack points and an extra 500. I'll release my dragon to stop you!"

"What?! No!" Seilah said. His dragon turned into pure energy and blasted Seilah with all her life points dropping to nothing and Seilah was blasted against a building.

"I actually lost?! Impossible!" Seilah said.

"It is. Let that be a warning. We're not going down so easily. We humans aren't as pathetic as you think." Erik said. Seilah's body glowed and now one of the etherious has been turned to stardust. That's one down and seven to go.

…..

The Guild

"He did it! He won!" Erza said.

"Of course he did. How could there be any doubt?" Kinana said as she was so happy.

"He holds the same spirit we all do. No more waiting around. We strike now and bring an end to this invasion!" Makarov said and everyone cheered. "Forward into battle!" Everyone felt the same and all of them ran out to battle. One etherious is down, but others remain. It's going to take everything this dueling guild has to survive.


	23. Wendy's Stand

It's all-out war in Magnolia. The etherious have begun their invasion, but all hope is not lost. Fairy Tail decided to take a stand against the etherious. They spread through the city and helping everyone they could. They also desire to save Natsu from whatever control Zeref has over them.

"Look at that." Zeref said as he and his brother looked upon the city and could feel what was going on. "It looks like your former friends have decided to fight and they're helping everyone they could." E.N.D. didn't really seem to care.

"My lieges!" Both of them turned around and Kyoka came to speak with them. "I come bearing troubling news. It would seem that Seilah has already fallen in battle to a human."

"We're already aware of that." Zeref said. "Truth be told, I expected some members of Fairy Tail to put up a fight. Continue on like usual. We might have a few setbacks, but we can't let that stop us."

"You're both talking nonsense." E.N.D. said. "I care not for who falls and it doesn't matter because these humans are nothing to us." Is there really nothing left of the real Natsu?

….

Wendy

Wendy was out and looking for others who were in need of some help. She looked around the city and spotted someone injured. She ran over to that person.

"Are you okay?" Wendy asked.

"I think I twisted my ankle." Wendy looked around and tried to find someone or something that could help her.

"Wendy!" Wendy looked down the street and saw Cana running towards her.

"Cana, great timing. This man hurt his ankle." Wendy said. "Can you help me take him somewhere that's safe?"

"Sure. Can you stand?" Cana said.

"I'll try." The man said as he tried to stand up. Wendy and Cana grabbed a hold of his arms and helped him stay up.

"I saw some people taking cover in a building not that far from here. We can drop you off there. Hopefully there's a doctor who can look at your ankle." Cana said.

"Thank you."

"We better get going. The enemy could be anywhere." Wendy said and they all got moving. Wendy was right about that. What they didn't notice was that the four-armed freak, Ezel was close to them.

"A hideout for humans? I can just imagine all the destruction I can cause with that." Ezel said with a sinister smirk on his face.

…..

The Building

Cana and Wendy were able to help the man into the building that other humans. They went inside and saw other humans, but they were all frightened and unsettled.

"Excuse me! Is anyone here a doctor?" Cana called. "This man hurt his ankle."

"Over here!" Someone called out.

"Cana, you take him there. I'm going to see if I can help some of the people here." Wendy said.

"Sure." Cana said and Wendy went ahead. Wendy looked around and saw people were scared by the whole thing.

"Don't worry, everyone. We'll all make it through this. We just need to have some faith." Wendy said. "My friends and I are doing what they can to help everyone. We'll make it through this so none of you have to worry." Wendy was trying to boost their morale, but it was hard to believe any of that after seeing what was going on outside.

"Hey, Wendy." Cana said as she was able to catch her. "That guy is going to be okay. How are things here?"

"Not looking so good. Everyone is so scared." Wendy said.

"Who wouldn't be?" Cana said as she had a look outside. "It's a nightmare out there. It feels like the end of the world and it probably is."

"Don't' say something like that, Cana." Wendy said. "We've pulled through before against the Underworld Lords and Sabertooth. We'll do it again against these etherious." Wendy really believed that. Wendy looked to the side and saw a poor guy shaking in fear. "Hey. It will be okay."

"No it won't." The man said.

"Yes it will." Wendy said.

"How do you know?! You're just a kid!" The man shouted.

"Hey! She's just trying to help. You don't have to get nasty about it." Cana said.

"Its okay, Cana. He's just scared." Wendy said. "We better go see if anyone else needs help. Maybe we can find other shelters." Wendy went ahead, but Cana was having some worries.

'She is just a kid.' Cana thought. 'I know she has one of those legendary dragons, but she's a little young to be caught in all this. People should protect her. Not the other way around. I better stick with her.' Out of concern for Wendy's safety, Cana followed her. Wendy stepped outside, but she suddenly got a strange feeling. "Wendy, what's wrong?"

"I'm not sure. I just have a bad feeling all of a sudden." Wendy said. Suddenly, they felt something land next to them. Both of them tried to move away, but a tentacle came around and grabbed Cana. "Cana!"

"Hey! Hands off!" Cana said. Both of them looked and were met with Ezel.

"Who would have guessed following a couple little girls would pull off?" Ezel said.

"Little girl? I'm almost in my twenties actually, creep. Who are you?" Cana said.

"My name is Ezel. Remember it because you should know the name of the guy who destroyed you." Ezel said and tightened his grip on Cana.

"Stop it! Let her go!" Wendy said.

"What's this? Are you actually challenging me little girl?" Ezel said.

"Wendy, don't. It's too dangerous. Run while you can." Cana said.

"No, Cana. I'm a member of Fairy Tail too and I'll fight. Do you hear me, you big creep?" Wendy said. "I'm actually challenging you to a duel. Someone has to stop you bullies and I'm not afraid to take a stand against you."

"You're actually challenging me? You'll be sorry, but I do enjoying toying around with my victims." Ezel said. "Fine, little brat. Since you're in such a hurry to meet your doom, I'll take you on."

"Bring it on. I'm not scared of you." Wendy said. "I've learned to face enemies such as yourself and it's all thanks to Natsu, Erza, and all my friends. I'll beat you and protect everyone. Let's go!" Wendy activated her duel disk and was ready for action.

"Whatever. A little girl doesn't stand a chance." Ezel said as he summoned his duel disk that broke into parts on his two arms. One for monsters and the other for his spell and traps. "Your friend will even have a front row seat and she'll join you when her time comes."

'Wendy, I hope you know what you're doing.' Cana thought.

"Let's duel!" Both of them said and had 4000LP and Wendy's mark started glowing.

"I'll make the first move! I draw!" Wendy said and drew her first card. "I'll start by activating my Graceful Charity. Now I can draw three cards, but I have to send two to the graveyard." She drew her three cards and discarded Grand Sky Wyvern and a spell. "Now the effects of the spell I discarded activates. The spell is called Pendulum Chimes. When that spell is sent to the graveyard, I can place a wind attribute pendulum monster from my deck in the pendulum zone. I select my scale one Sky Wicca." Wendy placed her monster in the zone and it was on standby.

"What good will that do?" Ezel said.

'Pendulum? This must be part of that pendulum summoning Wendy worked on, but she needs another monster to use it.' Cana thought.

"I'm also going to summon my Sky Guardian in defense mode." Wendy said and summoned her defending bird and its 1900def points. "I place two cards facedown and end my turn."

"Is that it? You're playing on defense? Pathetic." Ezel said and drew his card. "Then again, you are just a human. Watch how a real duel is played. I summon Onimaru Goken in attack mode." He summoned out a black armored samurai with a demon's face and a pair of dual swords with it having 2000atk points.

"A monster with 2000atk points?!" Wendy said.

"If you're scared now, you'll hate what is to come." Ezel said. "I activate Goken Sword Forge. This spell allows me to summon another Goken when I already have one the field. I'm bringing out Juzumaru Goken!" Ezel summoned out another samurai demon with crimson armor and it had 2100atk points. "Now have a taste of what real power is like! Juzumaru, pluck that bird's feathers!" His warrior slashed the air and released a powerful shockwave. "What's more is that you're taking damage even when your monster is in defense mode." The shockwave blasted Sky Guardian. Sky Guardian did his best to resist it.

"That's just fine with me. Sky Guardian can handle it." Wendy said as her life points dropped to 3800, but something happened. Sky Guardian was still destroyed. "What just happened? Sky Guardian can only be destroyed by a level six or higher monster. I also should have gained some life points."

"That's the beauty of Juzumaru." Ezel said. "When he attacks a monster, their special abilities are useless. You're not out of the woods yet, little girl. Onimaru can attack you directly!" Onimaru used a cross attack and Wendy got hit pretty hard as her life points dropped to 1800 and she was blown back from the attack.

"Wendy!" Cana shouted out of concern.

"It's only going to get worse for her." Ezel said. All of them felt the building shake and they saw part of it was cracking.

"What's happening?" Wendy said.

"That building doesn't appear to be all that durable. It probably can't handle all those shockwaves from my attacks." Ezel said. "I say that when you lose all your life points, the building will come tumbling down."

"You can't do that! Innocent people are in there!" Wendy said.

"I should care about that why?" Ezel said.

"You won't win." Cana said.

"I doubt a little girl will be able to stop me." Ezel said. "Onimaru and Juzumaru will deal 600 points of damage each time she plays a spell or trap."

'I think I see what he's planning.' Cana said. 'He must have another monster that will deal with Wendy's monsters. He's going to take Wendy apart piece by piece.'

"I place one card facedown and end my turn." Ezel said. Wendy stood back up and now there's more riding on this duel than just her and Cana's sake. She needs to help those people.

"Those people need to get out of there before that building collapses." Wendy said.

"Not going to happen." Ezel said. "Just take a look at those people inside." They saw all the people appeared to be afraid. "They're all scared. Too scared to even move. Some of them might even be injured. Plus, with us dueling right in front of the building, they don't have much of an escape route."

"That means I'm their only hope. I have to win this duel and make sure all those people are safe." Wendy said.

"Don't count on it." Ezel said. Wendy's never been in a duel with the stakes like this, but she can't lose.

'Come on, Wendy. You're their only hope now. No matter if you're a kid or not, you can do this.' Cana thought.

'I can't lose. I won't lose.' Wendy thought. 'Everyone else is fighting so hard and I have to do the same. No matter what he tries, I can't give up.' Wendy is taking a stand. She's not like how she use to, but will it be enough?

To Be Conitnued…..


	24. Healing vs Damage

"This way! You'll be safer that way!" Freed said as he guided some people through the city to avoid the danger. People were in a panic over this invasion, but Fairy Tail is doing their best to help them. "Evergreen and Bickslow should be getting more people to safety." Freed turned to Laxus, but Laxus was staring at his glowing mark. "Your mark is glowing!"

"Yeah. That means one of us holding the dragons must be dueling." Laxus said.

"Who?" Freed asked.

"Wendy, but I can sense she's struggling." Laxus said. "She is just a kid. I hope she's doing okay."

….

Wendy

Wendy was faced in a difficult situation. She was dueling against the ruthless Ezel and the intensity of the duel from Ezel's attacks are causing some damage to a building that innocent people are trapped in. Ezel also held Cana captive. Ezel had his Onimaru Goken at 2000atk points and Juzumaru Goken at 2100atk points and one face-down. Wendy had two face-downs with Sky Wicca in the pendulum zone. She also 1800LP.

"Stay strong, Wendy." Cana said.

"I will." Wendy said.

"Oh please. You can't do much of anything." Ezel said. "Once you play a spell and a trap, you'll be dealt damage."

"True, but that only works once a turn each. I just need to hold out after that." Wendy said. "It's my turn!" Wendy drew her next card and was trying to figure out what to do. 'I have to think this through. Every time I take damage, the building with all those innocent people is going to get weaker and weaker and could crush them. Also, each time I play my first spell and trap each turn, I'll be dealt 600 points of damage each time. That means I only got three strikes.' She thought.

"Are you going to make a move or what?" Ezel said.

"I summon Sky Maiden in defense mode." Wendy said. She summoned her maiden with it having 400def points. "Now I activate her special ability. I gain 500LP each turn." Her maiden shined some light around her and Wendy's life points went to 2300. "Next, since you have more monsters than I do, I can special summon Sky Enchantress." Wendy summoned out a lady riding on a broom with white clothing flew on the field and had 800def points. "I now activate Sky Enchantress' special ability. It allows me to move one spell card from my deck into my hand once a turn." A card ejected out and Wendy took it.

"A spell? Wendy knows that she'll be dealt damage if she activates it." Cana said.

"I activate Winds of Life." Wendy said. "This allows a wind monster to move from my deck and into my hand."

"Before you do that, Onimaru's ability will deal damage to you!" Ezel said. Onimaru Goken released a shockwave that blasted Wendy and her life points dropped to 1700.

"That's perfectly fine because the monster I chose was my Air Wicca. I set her in the other pendulum zone." Wendy said and her other pendulum monster was placed in the other pendulum zone. "I end my turn."

"All that trouble for nothing. My turn!" Ezel said and drew his next card. "I summon Mikazuki Goken in attack mode." Ezel summoned out a blue armored samurai demon with a crescent-shaped blade. It also had 2000atk points. "Now nothing can save you because when you summon a monster, Mikazuki Goken will deal 600 points of damage."

"I knew it. He's trying to make it so that Wendy's moves all backfire on her. She can't make a move without taking damage." Cana said.

"One other thing. Don't even bother using any effects on Mikazuki because he's unaffected by any of your cards." Ezel said. "I think it's time I ended this. Juzumaru, destroy her and that building!" His monster was getting ready to attack.

"I won't let you!" Wendy said. "I'm activating Updraft, Far From Reach. Now Sky Maiden can't be destroyed and I won't take any damage."

"Yes you will. Playing that trap will allow Juzumaru to take away some of your life points." Ezel said. Juzumaru jumped over Wendy's defenses and slashed against her with her life points dropping to 1100. The shockwave cause some damage to the building as it was starting to break.

"That building won't last much longer. All those people need to get out, but they're too scared to even move." Wendy said. "I have to end this fast."

"Good luck with that. It won't happen." Ezel said.

"I won't let you do this. That's why I'm activating the Dedicated Helper continuous trap!" Wendy said. "You can't deal damage this time because your three monster's special abilities only work once every turn. Since you just dealt damage to me from an effect, this card will give me back 300LP every time I take effect damage. I won't fall so easily."

"You can't, but your monsters will!" Ezel said. "Mikazuki, strike down her Sky Enchantress!" Mikazuki went at Sky Enchantress and took her out as well. "Your turn and I'll make sure it's your final move."

"We'll see about that. I draw!" Wendy said and drew her next card and it was just who she needed. "First, I'm activating Sky Maiden's ability to give me another 500LP." Wendy gained more power as her life points rose to 1600. "Now that the pendulum scale is set, I pendulum summon!" A pathway opened up with a bright light coming through. "Help me defeat the darkness, Grandine the Sky Dragon!" Wendy's beautiful white dragon flew on the field and had 2300atk points.

"Yes! She brought out her dragon!" Cana said.

"So what? That flying feather duster can't stop me." Ezel said.

"You'll pay for insulting Grandine as well as endangering people." Wendy said.

"Let's see if that will happen after I activate Mikazuki's ability. You summoned a monster and now are dealt 600 points of damage." Ezel said. Mikazuki slashed against Wendy and her life points dropped to 1000.

"Perhaps, but my trap gives me life points." Wendy said and her life points went to 1300. "I activate Grandine's ability. She gains attack points equal to the difference in our life points. Since the difference is 2700. She gains that many attack points." Grandine was given power and it went up to 5000. "Now to use Sky Wicca's ability to give her more power."

"Hold it! I activate my trap! Swords of Goken!" Ezel said. "When I have three Goken monsters, I can sacrifice them to summon out Tenka Goken!" All three of his monsters vanished and a new one showed itself. A giant samurai demon with four blades for arms and had 3200atk points.

"Grandine's still stronger and she's about to get even stronger. I activate Sky Wicca's pendulum ability!" Wendy said.

"No you won't!" Ezel said. His monster slashed against Wendy's pendulum monster and destroyed it with Wendy's life points dropping to 700, but rose to 1000.

"What just happened?" Wendy said.

"That's Tenka Goken's ability! Once a turn, he negate and destroy the ability of once card and you take 600 points of damage!" Ezel said.

"Grandine's still stronger! Grandine, attack with** Sky Drill**!" Wendy said. Grandine attacked and blasted Tenka Goken with Ezel's life points dropping to 1200. Wendy checked on the building and saw more of it was coming undone. "Uh oh. That might have been too much power." Wendy was concerned and even more when she heard Ezel laughing and saw his monster survived.

"But Wendy destroyed it. Unless…." Cana said.

"Tenka Goken can't be destroyed while he's in attack mode. This is getting fun though." Ezel said. Wendy was in a tough situation now.

"I end my turn." Wendy said and Grandine's attack points returned to normal.

"My turn!" Ezel said and drew his next card. "Tenka Goken, attack that dragon!" His monster attacked and destroyed Wendy's dragon with Wendy's life points dropping all the way to 100.

"Wendy!" Cana said and the building started to come apart.

"It's almost over! I activate Goken Slash! This spell destroys one monster since I have a Goken out." Ezel said. "Say goodbye to Sky Maiden." Sky Maiden was slashed and destroyed. "You got nothing left. As soon as you activate a card, you'll lose the last of your life points. You're finished!"

"Don't give up, Wendy! There must be something you can do!" Cana cheered.

'Cana's right. I'm not how I use to be.' Wendy thought. 'I know I can do this, but the first card I activate, he'll destroy and I'll lost the last of my life points. I guess it all comes down to what I draw.' "I draw!" Wendy made what might be her final draw, but she saw it was a card that could help her. "That's it. I can play with his desires. I activate Benevolent Winds!"

"Big mistake! You're finished!" Ezel said.

"Are you sure you want to stop this? It will allow me draw two cards, but it gives you 2000LP." Wendy said.

"I gain life points? In that case bring them." Ezel said feeling a little greedy. Ezel's life points rose to 3200 and Wendy was able to draw two cards. "Just what I need. I activate Winds of Life. You can't negate this card. I can now summon a monster in my graveyard who holds attack points that is less than the difference in our life points. Grandine, return in defense mode!" Grandine came back with 2500def points. "I also gain life points equal to half of Grandine's life points. Guess you shouldn't have been so greedy."

"Are you saying if I had stopped your last spell, I would have won?" Ezel said.

"Yeah, but it's too late." Wendy said as her life points went to 1250. "I'm also going to summon Carla Flying Cat in defense mode." Wendy summoned a white female cat with wings and had 300def points. "I now use Carla's ability. We'll be able to look at the top cards in our decks." Both of them looked at their top card and they both held a spell card. "I now activate Air Wicca's pendulum ability to bring Winds of Life back into my hand."

"I don't think so. Now I will use Tenka Goken's ability and stop that from happening! I won't make the same mistake twice!" Ezel said. Tenka Goken slashed against Wendy's last pendulum monster and destroyed it with her life points dropping to 650 and rose to 950.

"That's okay. I can now activate the card I really want." Wendy said.

"What?!"

"Armor Enchant!" Wendy said. "It gives all my monsters 1000def points and they can't be destroyed until my next turn." Carla's and Grandine's defense points rose to 1300 and 3500. "I place two cards facedown and end my turn."

"You're just delaying the inevitable." Ezel said and drew his next card. "I might not be able to destroy your monsters, but I'll prepare for next turn. I activate the Destructive Slasher equip spell. Now come my next turn, you'll take damage for every one of Tenka Goken's attack points. It's over." Ezel said.

"Wendy…" Cana said. All eyes were on her and they were all hoping for the best.

"It's my turn!" Wendy said and drew one final time. "This duel will end. I activate my Breath of the Sky Dragon trap. With Grandine on the field, this trap gives me life points equal to her attack points.

"Nice try, but Tenka Goken's ability will just stop it again." Ezel said. Her trap card was slashed to pieces and Wendy's life points dropped to 350 and rose to 650.

"That's okay. I have this spell card. It's the one I really wanted." Wendy said. "I activate Shifting Winds. This spell switches the battle position of all monsters when there's a wind monster out." All monster's switch modes of 2300 and 300atk points and 0def points.

"No! I can't believe this little girl outsmarted me!" Ezel said.

"Believe it. I'm also activating Healer's Wrath. This trap activates on the turn a card that gives me life points is negated." Wendy said. "It allows a monster to inflict piercing damage. Now I use Grandine's ability!" Grandine gained power as her attack points rose to 4850. "Grandine, put an end to this evil!"

"This can't be!" Ezel said. Grandine blasted Tenka Goken and Ezel got hit hard as all his life points dropped all the way to zero. "This can't be happening to me!" Ezel met his end as he was turned to stardust and Cana was saved.

"Cana!" Wendy called as she ran over to her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Thanks to you. Wendy, look." Cana said. The people inside the building came out and they all cheered for her. "You brought hope and courage to them. We'll make it through this." Wendy saw that as well and that's what they need in times like this.

…

Gajeel

Gajeel's mark stopped glowing and he could feel what happened.

"Looks like Wendy made it." Gajeel said. "That little girl sure is tough."

"Gajeel!" Gajeel looked behind him and was met with Levy. "Gajeel, come with me. I might need your protection." Gajeel agreed and went with Levy. They headed over to the lake where the pillar of light was.

"What are we doing here?" Gajeel asked.

"I want to get a better look at that. Maybe there's a way to stop it." Levy said. Both of them were going to get a closer look, but something stopped them as it jumped out of the water and that something was large.


	25. From the Darkest Depths

Gajeel and Levy went to pay a visit to the pillar of light. They arrived to investigate by the lake, but they walked right into a trap. Something shot right out of the water and caught them by surprise. Torafuzar landed across from them and he looked like he mean business with his face and the big built.

"What is that?" Levy said.

"Some sort of fish?" Gajeel said.

"You two aren't suppose to be here." Torafuzar said. "I'm giving you the chance to walkaway right now. You won't get a chance like that."

"What gives? Who are you?" Gajeel said.

"I go by Torafuzar. If you and your friend know what's good for you, you'll turn away."

"I don't think so. Not unless you're willing to tell us how to make that light over there go away." Gajeel said. "What are you even doing out in the water?"

"I stayed behind on Lord Zeref's command." Torafuzar said. "It is so no one tries to interfere when our forces arrive to conquer this world. Besides, water is like a home to me. Lord Zeref believed you humans might try something, but you're out of luck. That can't be closed unless we're all defeated and that won't happen."

"So these two worlds can't be separated until all these etherious are defeated?" Levy said.

"That's including Lord Zeref." Torafuzar said. "If you won't turn back, I won't show you any mercy and strike you down."

"If you're trying to scare me, don't bother." Gajeel said as he seemed thrill to take him on. "If you're looking for a fight, you got one. Bring it, you gigantic piece of sushi."

"You'll end up regretting that." Torafuzar said as he held out his arm and a duel disk formed from it. Gajeel activated his duel disk and was ready for action.

"Hey. Try and keep him busy." Levy said. "I'm going to find a boat and head over to that pillar. I want to take a closer look at it. Maybe there's a way to close it unlike what this guy says."

"Are you sure?" Gajeel said.

"I'll be careful. I can take care of myself. Just focus on taking him down." Levy said. Levy ran off to find a boat.

"Where's she going?" Torafuzar said.

"You keep away from her." Gajeel said. "If you want to get to her, you have to go through me first."

"That won't be a problem." Torafuzar said.

"So let's duel!" Both said and now had 4000LP each.

"I'll make the first move. I draw." Torafuzar said and drew his first card. "I summon Dark Abyss Shark to the field." He summoned a black shark with 1700atk points. "Now since there's a Dark Abyss on the field, I can summon out Dark Abyss Remora." He summoned a black remora fish and it swam out with it having 600atk points.

"A fish with only 600atk points? That little guy doesn't look scary." Gajeel said.

"Looks can be deceiving." Torafuzar said. "The terror is only just beginning. I place two cards facedown to end my turn. You should know that none of my Dark Abyss monsters can be destroyed by any monster of the water attribute."

"That's not a problem for me. My turn!" Gajeel said as he drew his next card. "I'm kicking things off by summoning Karma Demon Iron Club!" He summoned out an armored fiend with a club that has 1800atk points. "Now take out his little fish!" His monster went to attack the remora fish.

"Fool." Torafuzar said. "You should have known better. I activate Dark Drag Down. When a Dark Abyss is being attacked, I won't take any damage. What's more is that Dark Abyss Remora can't be destroyed as long as there is another Dark Abyss monster on the field." Gajeel's attack was no use.

"That's okay. You won't be able to escape me. I place two cards facedown and end my turn." Gajeel said. 'Levy, whatever you do, you better be safe. There's no telling what's going on with this guy.' Gajeel thought as he was hoping for the best out of here.

…

Zeref

Zeref stared out to the city as he watched all that was going on. He admits that he was actually surprised that two of his etherious were actually beaten.

"Surprising. Both Seilah and Ezel are gone. I thought they would have lasted a little longer." Zeref said. "Still, they underestimated their enemies. I'm real interested in what will happen from here." Zeref was about to get moving, but he stopped as he sensed something. "Seems like Torafuzar is making his attack now. I actually feel sorry for the duelist that goes against him. If he plays a certain card, that duelist won't make to the end of the duel."

…

The Duel

"It's my turn. I draw!" Torafuzar said. "I summon another Dark Abyss Shark in attack mode." He summoned out another shark to the field. "I now activate Equal Level Grounds. I select two monsters and all monsters becomes the level of what their total is. Dark Abyss Shark and Dark Abyss Remora. Their combine levels equal five. That means all monsters on my field become level five."

"What are you going to do with that?" Gajeel said.

"Watch. I overlay my three level five Dark Abyss Sharks and Remora to build the overlay network." Torafuzar said as his three monsters became blue energy and merged into a vortex that formed. "From the darkest depths of the ocean, nothing can break this beast of the sea. I xyz summon Tenchi Kaimei!" Torafuzar summoned a shark-like creature with its body made out of steel and had 2800atk points.

"What is that thing?" Gajeel said.

"You're about to find out." Torafuzar said. "Something you should know is that Tenchi Kaimei can't be destroyed as long as it has an overlay unit."

"I can't destroy it?!" Gajeel said.

"No and it's going to get worse for you." Torafuzar said. "I activate the Dark Fin Blade trap card! It can equip on Tenchi Kaimei to give him 500atk points." A blade shaped like a fin formed on his monster's arm and its attack points increased to 3300. "Tenchi Kaimei, strike his Iron Club with **Deep Impact**!"

"That won't work. Iron Club's ability can prevent him from being destroyed." Gajeel said.

"Think again." Torafuzar said. "When Tenchi Kaimei attacks, he can block the ability of one monster every turn." Gajeel wasn't expecting that and no he can't stop the attack. Tenchi Kaimei got over Gajeel's monster as power gathered around its fist. It gave Iron Club a powerful strike and left a large impact on the ground. Gajeel was blown back from the impact and his life points dropped to 2500.

"Is that all you got?" Gajeel said.

"Not quite. When a monster equipped with Dark Fin Blade destroys a monster, you take another 500 points of damage." Torafuzar said. Tenchi Kaimei leaped at Gajeel and slashed against him with his life points dropping to 2000.

"A couple more hits like that and I'm done for." Gajeel said.

"You were doomed the moment you accepted my challenge." Torafuzar said. "Since we reached the end of my turn, I must use Tenchi Kaimei's ability. I have to use one overlay unit or he will lose 700atk points. So I'll do just that." One overlay unit entered his chest and kept all his power.

"So the moment he runs out of overlay units, he'll lose power." Gajeel said. "Still, I won't be able to last that long if I don't find some way to get rid of that thing. It's my turn!" Gajeel drew his next card and tried to come up with a plan.

"Try anything you like. It won't be able to help you." Torafuzar said.

"We'll see about that fish freak." Gajeel said. Suddenly, they heard a humming sound. They looked towards the water and saw Levy was able to find a boat and was out on the lake. "Good. Looks like Levy is still safe and is heading towards the light."

"I don't know what she expect to find. I told you that the only way to close it is to beat all of us and that won't happen." Torafuzar said.

"We'll see about that. Don't go underestimating my girl. She's one of the smartest cookies in the jar. You should be more concerned with what I'm about to do you. I activate my Iron Breaking trap." Gajeel said. "This trap card takes the attack points of the monster you just destroyed and weakens your monster by that same amount until the end of the turn. Since Iron Club had 1800atk points. That means your freaky fish loses 1800atk points." Tenchi Kaimei's power dropped down to 1500.

"I believe I did tell you that Tenchi Kaimei can't be destroyed." Torafuzar said, but he just realized something. "I get it. You're aiming to take out some of my life points."

"You got that right." Gajeel said. "Next, I'm activating Iron Repair. This brings back a monster with Iron. I'm bringing back my Karma Demon Iron Club!" His monster rose back to the field and looking for some payback. "Now I'm activating my Painful Impact trap. When a Karma Demon attacks, this allows the damage to be double."

"Trying to take out as much as you can? You won't succeed like that." Torafuzar said.

"Will you quit babbling? Maybe this will shut you up." Gajeel said. "Iron Club, attack his shark creature and deal some damage." His monster went on the attack and Gajeel's monster slammed its club against Tenchi Kaimei. It wasn't destroyed, but Torafuzar's life points still dropped to 3400.

"A mere 600?" Torafuzar said. "I'm as strong as steel. You're going to need to do a lot more than that if you want to beat me."

"We'll see about that. The duel is far from over. I place one card facedown and that ends my turn." Gajeel said.

….

Levy

Levy was able to find a speed boat and made it to the pillar of light. She would have been amazed to see it so close if it wasn't being used for evil. Levy tried to get closer to it, but the waves from the light were becoming a little too much. Levy had to back away some.

"The water is getting too wild. I can't get any closer." Levy said. "There has to be some way to close this thing before any more damage is done to Magnolia." Levy is hoping to find a way to close this, but it won't be easy even for someone with a brain like her.

…

Erza and Lucy

Erza and Lucy decided to stay together. They decided to stick together for safety reasons. The two of them kept themselves low and hidden until they come across the enemy.

"Anything?" Lucy asked.

"Not yet." Erza said. "The enemy is around there somewhere. We just need to keep our guard up." Erza was ready to move, but she noticed Lucy was looking in the direction of the light. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know. I just got a bad feeling all of a sudden." Lucy said.

….

The Duel

"It's my turn!" Torafuzar said and drew his next card. He saw his card and was really pleased with what he got. "You're in for it now."

"What are you talking about?" Gajeel said.

"I activate my Dark Deluge continuous spell!" Torafuzar said. When he played that spell, strange water started coming out of his card.

"Black water?" Gajeel said. "What is this? What did you just do?"

"Just wait and see." Torafuzar said. The water spread through the whole area, but it didn't stop just around there. The water spread around. Levy was trying to analyze the pillar of light, but she noticed the strange water coming her way. The waves from the black water hit her boat and caused her to fall over. The water even reached into the city.

"Where's all this water even coming from?" Gajeel said.

"Dark Deluge will cause both duelists to lose an extra 100LP whenever a monster is destroyed." Torafuzar said. "However, it's not just that. This card will be the end of you and all you humans."

To Be Continued…..


	26. Out of the Shark Pool

"Hurry!" Erza said as she and Lucy were running for their lives. Erza and Lucy ran into a building and headed upstairs as a flood of black water washed through. "What is this?"

"Black water? Where did it even come from?" Lucy said.

"I'm not sure, but I think it's safe to stay out of it." Erza said and Lucy felt the same. They saw the water rising and they both hurried. That black water was reaching block after block. If it isn't stopped, the whole streets of Magnolia will be submerged in it.

….

Zeref

The etherious through the city could see all the water coming their way. They did avoid it, but only because it's common sense to avoid a flood. Zeref himself anticipated something like this would happen.

"So Torafuzar played Dark Deluge." Zeref said as he atched the waves of the dangerous black water flow through the city. "If that's the case, this takeover of the city might be done sooner than expected."

…

Gajeel

Gajeel was in the process of a duel against the shark-like beast known as Torafuzar. Torafuzar played a strange card called Dark Deluge and it was flooding the whole area with that strange black water.

"What the heck?" Gajeel said. He had 2000LP with his Iron Club at 1800atk points and a face-down. Torafuzar had 3400LP with that Dark Deluge and he also had Tenchi Kaimei with it having been equipped with Dark Fin Blade. "What did you do? Where is all this water even coming from?"

"That's the least of your worries." Torafuzar said with a smirk. "What you should be worried about is what's in that water."

"What?" Gajeel said. Suddenly he started to feel a little weak and had a little trouble standing. "What's going on?"

"There's a special substance in the water that we call bane particles." Torafuzar said. "They can be quite lethal to humans, but we etherious are immune to them. You probably won't last before we reach the end of this duel."

"That's cheating. Are you saying you're trying to poison me?" Gajeel said.

"This isn't one of your games. This is a war and all is fair in war." Torafuzar said. "You won't perish alone. The water is spreading through your entire city. All those who come in contact with this water will suffer the same fate as you. Taking over this city will be easier than I thought."

"Oh man. This isn't good. Maybe if I can take him out, all this water will vanish and everyone will be safe." Gajeel said.

"Don't bet on it. It's still my turn." Torafuzar said. "Since it is, Tenchi Kaimei's attack points have returned to normal. He's back at 3300. One attack from him is all it will take to finish you since Dark Fin Blade will deal 500 points of damage and Dark Deluge deals an extra 100. I can also block one monster's ability. You won't be able to survive another attack from him."

"So what are you waiting for? I rather go down by your hands than by some technicality." Gajeel said.

"If you insist." Torafuzar said. "Just in case you were planning something, I'll summon Dark Abyss Hammer in attack mode." Torafuzar summoned out a black hammerhead with its head made of metal and it had 1600atk points. "Tenchi Kaimei, attack! Finish this human off with **Deep Impact**!" His monster swam through the black water and was getting ready to attack.

"Not so fast. I activate my face-down. I activate Forbidden Shield." Gajeel said. "Since I'm about to take over a thousand points of damage, this spell weakens that damage by a thousand. I can't save my monster, but I'm still in this." Tenchi Kaimei bashed against Iron Club and destroyed it, but Gajeel's life points dropped to 1500.

"Don't forget that my dark Fin Blade deals 500 points of damage and my Dark Deluge deals another 100." Gajeel's life points dropped down to 900 and he could feel himself getting weaker because of the bane particles.

"You're not looking so well. This duel is just about over and so are any humans who are in my waters." Torafuzar said. "Hammer, strike him directly!" His hammerhead swam through the water and was going to strike him down.

"Not yet!" Gajeel said. "When I'm being attack directly, I can summon Karma Demon Hard Fist and your attack is cancelled." He summoned another metal fiend with a giant right hand and knocked the hammerhead away. It stayed on the field and had 1400atk points.

"So you just delayed the inevitable." Torafuzar said. "Since we reached the end of my turn, I have to use another one of Tenchi Kaimei's overlay units or he is going to get weaker." An overlay unit went in his monster's chest and was staying strong.

"Okay. So he has only one overlay unit left." Gajeel said. "After that, he'll start to get weaker." Gajeel hoped he can held out until that happens, but he felt his body growing weaker and weaker. "No way I'm going down by some water." Gajeel tried staying strong. Suddenly, he realized something when he looked out to the lake. "Oh no. Levy's out there. If she gets caught in that water, she might be a goner."

"Worried about your little friend?" Torafuzar said. "The moment she comes in contact with that water, her fate is sealed. The bane particles and seep through the skin to enter the body. There isn't anything that can save you or anyone unless you pull off some miracle and defeat me."

"Believe me that I will." Gajeel said as he has a reason to fight even harder.

…

Levy

Levy was knocked into the water when it first came. Levy swam up to the top and could finally breathe. Levy swam over to her boat and was able to climb inside. Levy got in, but she dropped and was laying in it.

"What's with this water?" Levy said as she felt so weak that almost everything hurts. She tried to move, but was having a hard time and was starting to lose consciousness. "Gajeel…."

….

The Duel

"It's my turn!" Gajeel said as he drew his next card. "I'm activating my Pot of Greed. That allows me to draw two more cards." Gajeel saw what he drew and he was liking it. "Look at that. I just drew my Karma Demon Double Iron. This spell allows me to treat one Karma Demon as two when I'm using it as a tribute summon."

"So something big is coming." Torafuzar said.

"You got that right. I sacrifice my Hard Fist and summon out my beast!" Gajeel said. "Come on out, Metalicana the Iron Dragon!" Gajeel released his monster and his dragon came out with a powerful roar and 3000atk points. Gajeel could feel himself getting weaker, but he had to keep fighting. "I activate….Double-Edge Iron. When a monster is equipped with this….they gain and additional 600atk points. What's more….is that when he's attacked, the monster that attacked him loses 600atk points." The metal around Metalicana sharpened and his attack points rose to 3600.

"You're not looking all that well." Torafuzar taunted.

"I feel well enough for this. Metalicana, attack his Dark Abyss Hammer! **Iron Dragon Slasher**!" Gajeel said. Metalicana flew in and slashed at the shark and destroyed it with Torafuzar's life points dropping to 1400. "Don't forget that your own spell card hurts you as well. A monster was destroyed and that means you lose another 100LP." Torafuzar's life points dropped to 1300. "I end….my turn."

"You can't last much longer." Torafuzar said. "However, you show power and true strength. For that, I'll honor you and try and defeat you the way you want to be defeated, but I don't think it will come to be. It's my turn!" Torafuzar drew his next card and tried to decide what to do. "I activate my Strike From The Abyss spell card. This spell allows me to take one of my water attribute monsters and half of their attack points are added to another water attribute monster. So I'll take my Dark Abyss Shark's attack points and add half of that to Tenchi Kaimei." Tenchi Kaimei was granted extra power as his attack points rose to 4100. "It's over! Tenchi Kaimei, attack his dragon!"

"It won't be that easy." Gajeel said. Tenchi Kaimei went on the attack and slammed against Metalicana and his life points dropped to 400. "You're lucky that once I play that spell, I can't destroy your monster."

"So I can't take extra damage." Gajeel said.

"True, but that's irrelevant at this point." Torafuzar said.

"Whatever. We've….reached the end of this turn." Gajeel said. "That means…you need to give up Tenchi Kaimei's last overlay unit."

"Not his last one." Torafuzar said. "I activate Overlay Spares. When there's an xyz monster on my field, this spell card gives him back the overlay units that are in my graveyard." Two of his overlay units came back to him. "I now use Tenchi Kaimei's ability so he doesn't lose power." One overlay unit entered his monster's chest and he keeps all his power. "Now it's the end of my turn and Tenchi Kaimei's attack points return to normal."

"Good. Here goe…." Gajeel couldn't hold out as his vision became blurry. Gajeel couldn't stay on his own feet as he passed out and fell in the water.

"I knew he couldn't hold out until the end of the duel." Torafuzar said. "I do praise you. You certainly held your own against me with great strength." Gajeel stayed under the black water with his body slowly going numb.

'So this is it? This is how it's done.' Gajeel thought as he thought this was the end of him, but his glowing mark was telling him differently.

"_Gajeel…."_ Gajeel suddenly snapped out of it as he could actually hear Levy. She's in trouble and she needs him. Gajeel found the strength in him to keep fighting as he got right back up and surprised Torafuzar.

"What? Impossible!" Torafuzar said.

"Still think we humans aren't all that? When we have something to fight for, someone precious to us that we want to protect, we'll push past our limits and keep fighting!" Gajeel said. Gajeel's mark glowed even brighter and he could feel his deck lending him power. "It's my turn!" Gajeel drew his next card and was glad with what he got. "Just the card I needed. I'm activating Carbon Draco Absorption. I can only use this spell when Metalicana is on the field, I can use this spell card to have him evolve."

"Evolve?!" Torafuzar said as Metalicana was placed in a bright light.

"That's right. I summon Metalicana the Steel Dragon!" Gajeel said. Metalicana changed looks as the metal of his body was pure black and he had 4000atk points. "Metalicana, take out his Tenchi Kaimei! Go, **Black Steel Strike**!" Metalicana flew up to the air and had energy form around it. Metalicana flew right at Tenchi Kaimei.

"Did you forget that Tenchi Kaimei can't be destroyed since he has overlay units?" Torafuzar said. Metalicana bashed against Tenchi Kaimei, but he was still destroyed and Torafuzar's now has 600LP. "How?!"

"When Metalicana attacks, that monster is destroyed no matter what. There's more." Gajeel said. "He can attack again and the attack points of your monster are added as damage. That means his next attack can deal 7300 points of damage!" Metalicana flew right at Torafuzar and gave a powerful strike against him. Torafuzar was knocked down and lost all of his life points. When Torafuzar was defeated, all the black water from his spell was vanishing and everyone that was caught in it was feeling better. Zeref couldn't believe Torafuzar was beaten and Levy knew it had to be Gajeel's doing.

"An excellent duel." Torafuzar said with him not being able to move. "Again I praise you, Great Iron Dragon. However, I meant what I said before. If you really wish to end this, you must defeat all us etherious and Lord Zeref."

"We will." Gajeel said. "We've faced many powerful enemies. We're not scared of you." Torafuzar actually smiled from that.

"I guess you're not." Torafuzar said before he turned to stardust and that makes him the third etherious defeated and Gajeel emerges from this shark pool. Three down, but the ones that remain are powerful in their own way. There's still much to do, but Fairy Tail won't back down from the fight. They'll keep fighting until everyone of their enemy is beaten.


	27. White and Shadows Pt1

Magnolia is getting safer and safer. Gajeel was able to beat Torafuzar and kept his water from poisoning everyone. However, he barely survived himself. This is one dangerously powerful enemy and even the few that remain are dangerous.

"I may have beaten that shark, but what about Levy?" Gajeel said as ran towards the lake and was looking around for her. He was afraid that Levy may have gotten caught in that black water and he may not have saved her in time. "Levy! Are you out there?! Give me a sign!" Gajeel was getting really worried about her.

"Gajeel!" Levy called out as he saw her on her boat and was heading towards shore. Gajeel ran over to where she pulled in. As she got out, he pulled her into hug.

"I was afraid that black water got you." Gajeel said.

"It almost did, but I knew you would have found a way to beat that shark." Levy said.

"What about what happened at your end?" Gajeel said. "Were you able to find a way to close that thing?"

"I'm afraid not. I could barely get near it." Levy said. "I guess he was telling the truth. The only way to close it is to do what he says and that's to defeat all the enemies."

"How many are left?" Gajeel said.

"Let's see." Levy said as she did a count. "There were eight etherious that came with Natsu and Zeref. No one on Jellal's end was able to beat a single one. Erik won his duel. Do you know of anyone else that may have won their duel against one?"

"Yeah. Earlier, I felt Wendy. I believe she won in her duel." Gajeel said.

"You won yours just now." Levy said. "That means there are about five etherious left. That also means we have Zeref and we still need to find a way to save Natsu. Even so, I'm sure all of them are powerful and dangerous. I just hope they're stopped soon."

…

Magnolia

Destruction is still going on in the city. A series of explosions were happening with people running for their lives. The one behind all of this was the one called Jackal. Everything he touched, he practically destroyed.

"That's right. Keep running." Jackal said as he was amused by all of them running. "I love this. Those pitiful humans are running in fear and there isn't anything anyone can do to stop us."

"How much would you say all that destruction and human lives are worth?"

"Franmalth, is that you?" Jackal said as he turned around.

"Who else would it be?" Franmalth said as he showed himself to Jackal said. "I was enjoying a nice swim in Torafuzar's water, but it all just disappeared. It seems he was actually defeated."

"You're kidding!" Jackal said. "How could Torafuzar have fallen by these pathetic humans?"

"He isn't the only one. Ezel and Seilah were beaten as well." Franmalth said. "It seems we actually underestimate these humans. Some of them actually have the power to fight back."

"I find that hard to believe after I've seen." Jackal said. He was sure of that. Jackal also began to hear something. It sounded like someone whimpering. An innocent woman was hiding behind a car and was trying her best to stay quiet. Jackal was able to find her and seemed ready to attack. "You want to know the pathetic thing about humans? They think they can actually avoid us." Jackal was reaching out and was about to hurt her.

"No you don't!" Jackal was surprised as he felt someone kicked him right in the face and knocked him back. Jackal looked up and saw Sting was the one behind that. Rogue went to the woman and helped her up.

"Get out of here while you can. We'll take care of this." Rogue said and allowed the woman to run off.

"Looks like we finally found you creeps." Sting said.

"Hang on. I've seen them before." Franmalth said.

"You have? All humans look the same to me." Jackal said.

"Yes. They were present when Master Mard Geer was defeated." Franmalth said. "Such a coincidence to run in the two of you here."

"It's no coincidence. We've been trying to hunt you and you fellow monsters down." Rogue said.

"It's payback time for what you did to our friends." Sting said. "Not to mention that Fairy Tail is in need of our help. We owe a lot to them for what they did to us. I can't think of a better way to pay than taking you down."

"Don't make me laugh." Jackal said. "Humans like yourselves can't possibly match the power we have. Then again, who am I to stop a human from walking into their demise? I'll take you both on and it will be a great explosion."

"How about we take on the both of you?" Rogue said. "If both or either of you are responsible for what happened to our friends in our guild, we will take revenge."

"So you think you can take both of us on? Very well. This will be a tag duel." Franmalth said as he stepped forward. "Shall we, Jackal?"

"I can take both of them on by myself, but if they really want to meet their end, I'm fine with it." Jackal said. "Let's do this!" Jackal called out for a duel disk and Franmalth had his grow right out of his arm. Sting and Rogue activated their duel disks were ready to go.

"Let's duel!" All of them said as both sides shared 4000LP.

"I'll make the first move." Sting said and drew his card. "I'll start by summoning Lancerin: Lancer of Holy Light in attack mode." Sting called upon his lancer with it having 1800atk points. "Just remember that in a duel like this, no one can attack until we all make one turn. I think I'll end my turn."

"Ooh! My turn." Franmalth said as he drew his first card. "This card is worth a lot. I summon Absorbo in attack mode." He summoned out a serpent-like creature, but it had no attack points.

"A monster with no attack points? It doesn't look that scary." Sting said.

"Looks can be deceiving." Rogue said.

"Your friend is telling the truth." Franmalth said. "I activate Absorbo's ability. A monster can equip to him and its power becomes his." Absorbo shot out a tendril and it latched on Lancerin. Lancerin was turn into energy that it swallowed. Absorbo gained some features and looked similar to Lancerin and its attack points went to 1800.

"No way! He can do that?!" Sting said.

"Apparently. He just did." Rogue said.

"I think I'll end my turn." Franmalth said.

"We better handle this carefully." Rogue said. "If it really does have Lancerin's powers, we'll be taking some extra damage. Better put up a little defense. I summon Pure Shadow Raptor to the field." Rogue summoned out his dinosaur and it came out with it having 1500atk points. "When Pure Shadow Raptor is summoned, I can bring out Pure Shadow Wing Raptor." Rogue called out his other monster with it having 1600atk points. "I place one card facedown and end my turn."

"Finally. Saving the best for last." Jackal said and drew his card. "It's just the card I wanted. I activate Decisive Explosion. When you have two monster on the field, you have a choice to make."

"A choice?" Rogue said. Two orbs formed around his monsters and they were both trapped. "You have to choose which one will be destroyed and you take damage equal to that monster's attack points." Jackal said. "So which one of your monsters is going away?" Rogue didn't like it, but it couldn't be helped.

"I'm sorry. I choose Pure Shadow Raptor since it has the fewest attack points." Rogue said. The orb his dino was in was destroyed and their life points dropped to 2500.

"Not bad. He knew he couldn't damage us on the first turn. So he found a way to move around that." Sting said.

"I place one card facedown and that ends my turn." Jackal said.

"Back to me!" Sting said and drew his next card. "I'll start by summoning Percivin in attack mode." Sting summoned out his knight and it came out with 1600atk points. "Percivin, attack Absorbo."

"Say what? It's got more attack points." Franmalth said.

"True, but your monster is a light attribute." Sting said. "When Percivin does battle with a light attribute monster, your monster loses 500atk points and he gains them." Percivin's attack points rose to 2100 and Absorbo's attack points dropped to 1300.

"Think again. I activate Absorbo's ability. **Ejection**!" Franmalth said. Absorbo shot out Lancerin and Lancerin took the attack.

"What just happened?" Sting said.

"That's Absorbo's ability. As long as he is equipped with another monster, he can eject it out to block your attack and I take no damage." Franmalth said as his monster reverted to normal. "He might lose some power, but it's worth it because your attack did nothing."

"Perhaps, but at least your monster is powerless." Sting said.

"Not quite." Franmalth said.

"He's right. He can just get a new monster." Rogue said.

"Yeah and you won't stop it. I'm activating my trap. It's called Explosive Touch." Jackal said. "This trap activates when your monster's attack is cancelled out. Your turn ends right here and you lose 500 extra life points." An explosion went off and knocked both of them down and their shared life points dropped to 2000.

"My grandma hits harder than that!" Sting said.

"That's good. Try and make your last joke before your demise." Jackal said. "Franmalth, you're up."

"Gladly." Franmalth said and drew his next card. "I'll take that Percivin as another power to Absorbo." Absorbo took Percivin and absorbed him too and its power rose to 1600. "Now I activate Soul Draining Curse. This spell takes half of your monster's attack points and that is added to our life points." Rogue's raptor lost power and it had 800atk points and the etherious' combined life points rose to 4800.

"Not good." Rogue said.

"Not good? Try more like really not good." Sting said.

"You got that right. This attack will cost you some of your life points. Ooh. I hope a lot." Franmalth said. "Absorbo, destroy Pure Shadow Wing Raptor!" His monster lunged at Rogue's monster and destroyed it. Their life points dropped again to 1200.

"Rogue, you holding up okay?" Sting said.

"I think so, but these two are tough." Rogue said.

"You haven't seen what we're capable of." Jackal said.

"You were fools to challenge both me and Jackal." Franmalth said. "I'll keep taking your monster's power and Jackal will keep dealing damage to you. This duel is going to cost you greatly. I wonder how much. How much?!"

"Cork it. You're drooling." Jackal said. He got really annoyed by Franmalth, but he was trying to keep himself focused on what was ahead of them. "Why don't you two just give up and accept your fate? There's no way you humans can ever match the power we have."

"No way. We won't ever give up." Rogue said.

"He's right." Sting said. "We're fighting for Fairy Tail and we're fighting for our friend that you guys stole."

"Stole your friend?" Jackal said.

"Yeah. You creeps brainwashed him." Sting said. "It was that very friend that helped me see the right path. So you two better get ready because I'm getting all fired up!" Sting and Rogue are fighting their hardest and they will so they can help and save their friends.


	28. White and Shadows Pt2

One etherious is hard to deal with, but two of them is even harder. Sting and Rogue decided to team against Franmalth and Jackal, but it's more of a challenge than they thought. Franmalth and Jackal had 4800LP and had Franmalth's Absorbo. Absorbo had the ability to equip a monster on it and take their powers. Right now it had Sting's Percivin and had 1600atk points. Sting and Rogue had nothing, but one facedown and had only 1200LP.

"Are you two ready to quit?" Jackal said. "If you do, I promise your demise will be painless as we can make it."

"Not happening. This duel is far from over." Sting said.

"It is from where we're standing." Franmalth said.

"I suppose it's a good thing this duel isn't technically over yet." Rogue said. "We still have a chance to turn this around. It's my turn!" Rogue drew his next card and have a trick or two up his sleeve. "I summon Pure Shadow Batty to the field in attack mode." Rogue summoned out a black mutated bat creature to the field, but it had no attack points. "Now I activate Pure Shadow Batty's special ability. If I have a level five or higher monster in my hand, I can sacrifice Batty and summon it out. I summon out Pure Shadow Silk!" His bat-like creature was released and he summoned out a humanoid that was a mixture of black and white shapes with it having 2000atk points.

"Go ahead and attack. I'll just eject your friend's Percivin and take your monster next time." Franmalth said.

"Think again." Rogue said. "I activate the Lost In Darkness trap!" Rogue said. "Since our life points are lower than yours, one monster is removed from play until the end of this turn. That means Absorbo is going away for a while." A portal opened up and Absorbo was being pulled in.

"Nice work, Rogue." Sting said. "Percivin can't go with him if he's equipped to Absorbo. That means Absorbo is going to the graveyard."

"Uh oh!" Franmalth said. Absorbo had to eject Percivin and it went to Sting's graveyard with Absorbo being taken away.

"You've got to be kidding! You couldn't prevent this!" Jackal said.

"Now there's nothing left to protect the two of you! Silk, attack with **Rough Silk**!" His monster unleashed a barrage of black and white rays and they slashed against the two of them with their life points dropping to 2800.

"Nice work. We got them going now." Sting said.

"I now activate the Protective Shadow equip spell." Rogue said and a shadow aura formed around Silk. "When a Pure Shadow is equipped with this card, it keeps them safe from card effects. Absorbo might come back next turn, but this spell will prevent Silk from falling into its clutches. Since we've now reached the end of this turn, Absorbo returns to your field and Batty returns to my hand since it was sent there by its special ability." Rogue took his card back and Absorbo returned with no attack points.

"Looks like they got some fight to them after all." Jackal said. "Let's see if you'll keep it up when I'm through with you. It's my turn!" Jackal drew his next card while Franmalth was planning his next attack.

'That's it, Jackal. Set the stage while I have the right card that will take care of that shadow and it's power will be ours.' Franmalth said.

"I activate Explosive Fire. If I sacrifice one monster on the field, I can dish out another 500 points of damage." Jackal said. "I sacrifice Absorbo!"

"You're doing what?!" Franmalth said. Absorbo turned into a ball of light and blasted the boys and now they only have 700LP. "Why did you do that? I could have destroyed that spell and we could have taken his monster again. You just needed to wait."

"There was no time. Besides, it was useless now anyway." Jackal said. "Next time, have it all set early."

"They don't seem to be getting along." Rogue said.

"We can use that to our advantage." Sting said.

"Now I'm summoning out Explosive Beast!" Jackal said. He summoned out a yellow fur beast that was similar to a werewolf and it had 1900atk points. "I be careful if I were you. If you try to attack him while he's in attack mode, your monster will be destroyed as well."

"So we risk losing one of our monsters?" Sting said. "This guy is like an explosive maniac. It always seems to be a boom to him."

"I place one card facedown and end my turn." Jackal said.

"My turn!" Sting said and drew his next card and it was just the one he needed. "I activate Check Rook. By banishing Lancerin and Percivin in my graveyard, I get two rook tokens." Two rook chess tokens appeared on his field with no defense points. "I can now sacrifice these two and summon out Weisslogia the White Dragon!" Sting summoned out his dragon and it shined down with it having 2700atk points.

"Aw! Why is it so bright?" Jackal said. "I bet this will dim the light. I activate my Explosive Mine trap card."

"What's that?" Sting said.

"It puts a mine counter on both of your monsters." Jackal said. Two magic circles appeared under both monsters. "Now if you try and attack with them or use their special abilities, those two will be destroyed."

"Are you serious?!" Rogue said.

"No way I'm destroying Weisslogia." Sting said. "You won't attack either. I'm activating Swords of Revealing Light." A series of swords made of light formed around Jackal and Franmalth. "Now you two can't attack for three turns."

"You've got to be kidding me." Jackal said.

"I end my turn." Sting said.

"My turn!" Franmalth said as he drew his next card. "I activate the spell card called Costing. Thanks to this spell, you must dispose of one spell card on your field or give up 600LP to us."

"That would only leave us with a mere 100LP." Rogue said. "We can't get rid of Swords of Revealing Light until we have a plan. That just leaves one option. I choose to dispose of my Protective Shadow." Rogue disposed of his spell.

"Great work. I guess you are useful." Jackal said.

"I place one card facedown to end my turn." Franmalth said.

"My turn!" Rogue said and drew his next card and it was just who he needed. "It's time."

"Wait just a minute. I'm activating Battle Absorption. With this trap card, you have no choice, but to attack us with one monster." Franmalth said.

"What? I just take that back. You idiot." Jackal said.

"What? Your trap will destroy them if they attack or use their special abilities." Franmalth said.

"That only works with monsters they had out when I used that trap. Not new ones they summon." Jackal said.

"Good to know. I'm bringing out Pure Shadow Batty in attack mode." Rogue said and summoned out that creature again. "I now activate my Tribute Offer. This spell card allows me summon a level five or higher monster this turn as long as there is one monster on the field that's the same type as the monster that's on the field. It just so happens there is one: Weisslogia!"

"Oh yeah! I know who is coming out!" Sting said.

"I tribute Pure Shadow Batty and Pure Shadow Silk to summon out Skiadrum the Shadow Dragon!" Rogue said. He summoned out his black dragon with it roaring all of its 2900atk points.

"Another dragon?!" Jackal said.

"Skiadrum, attack with **Shadow Dragon Eclipser**!" Rogue said. Skiadrum unleashed a powerful black shadowy blast and destroyed Explosive Beast in a great explosion with their life points dropping to 1400LP.

"Moron! Did you forget that your monster will be destroyed too?!" Jackal said as he thought that was it, but Skiadrum was still standing. "What?!"

"Nice try, but Skiadrum can't be destroyed on the turn I activate Tribute Offer." Rogue said. "I end my turn."

"No." Jackal said as he was starting to get irritated by all of this.

"Jackal, you better do something or we could be in trouble." Franmalth said as he was starting to get nervous.

"I know!" Jackal said and drew his next card. "I summon another Explosive Beast to the field." Jackal summoned out a copy of the beast and it was just as strong. "I'm also going to place one card facedown to end my turn."

"Back to me!" Sting said and drew his next card.

"Yeah. Now that it is, I'm activating Explosion Spiral!" Jackal said. "Ha! Now you're done for. If you try and attack now, at the end of your battle phase, you'll lose 1000LP."

"That many? It will take us out." Sting said. "We could try and use Skiadrum's ability to absorb the blow, but that will weaken Skiadrum. I could use Weisslogia's ability to give him some power, but if I do that, he'll be destroyed."

"Sting, there's only one monster we have that can end this now." Rogue said. Sting knew who he was talking about and had the card to do just that.

"I activate Polymerization!" Sting said.

"Polymerization! Not good! Not good!" Franmalth said.

"You got that right. I'm fusing both of our dragons together!" Sting said. Both the dragons fused together and the forces of white light and black shadow became one. "I fusion summon Weisslogia the Holy Shadow Dragon!" Weisslogia reappeared with parts of its shining white body now black and it had 3700atk points.

"Not good! Not good!" Franmalth said as he and Jackal were nervous.

"You got that right. Rogue and I worked together when you didn't and that's your downfall. Weisslogia, attack with **Holy Shadow Flash Fang**!" Weisslogia unleashed a spiral blast of light and shadow. Jackal's beast was destroyed and both etherious were blown back from the attack as they lost the last of their life points and this duel was over.

"No way…. We lost…." Jackal said.

"I wonder how much this will cost us. How much?" Franmalth said. Both of them turned to stardust and now two etherious were gone at once.

"Nice. Two of them are no more." Sting said.

"Yes. That was for our friends who their kind have defeated." Rogue said.

"We're still not done. We still need to save Natsu and help anyone else who needs it." Sting said.

"You're right. Let's go." Rogue said and the two of them got searching again.

…

Laxus

Laxus' mark stopped glowing and that meant the duel he was sensing was no more.

"Looks like Sting and Rogue won." Laxus said. "Man, my arm feels like it's going to burn right off with how my mark keeps reacting."

"Laxus, we checked around." Freed said as he and the rest of his friends regrouped. "No one is left."

"Good. Let's get moving." Laxus said and all of them agreed. They were going to keep moving until an explosion went off in front of them and Laxus' friends got caught in it. Laxus was perfectly fine, but all three of them got knocked out. "Freed! Evergreen! Bickslow!"

"Are those fools your friends?" Laxus looked ahead of him and was met with another enemy. Tempester was standing across from him.

"They are my friends and you're about to be sorry you just messed with them." Laxus said.

"You think you can take me on?" Tempester said. "Foolish human. Take me on and it will only end in disaster." One duel after another keeps showing up. Will this one end like the others? We'll find out because Laxus is about to strike down at this guy for striking down his friends.


	29. Disaster Calamity

Two etherious were beaten at once thanks to Sting and Rogue. That just means only three of them are left. That also means that Fairy Tail is getting closer and closer to Zeref and are closer to saving Natsu from their control over him. At the moment, E.N.D. surveyed the city and could still feel his fellow dragons.

"Miserable humans." E.N.D. said. "Kyoka! Keyes! Get over here at once!" The last two members of the etherious appeared behind him and dropped down to one knee.

"You called for us, sire?" Keyes said.

"Our numbers are dropping because of this Fairy Tail." E.N.D. said. "I want you to hunt every last one of them down and destroy them."

"We are doing our best." Kyoka said. "This enemy has proven to be a greater challenge than we thought. We didn't think we would actually be defeated by them."

"I do not care for your excuses. I care for results and the destruction." E.N.D. said. "Succeed on bringing them down or you will face my wrath. Which would you rather have?"

"We shall do as you say, Lord E.N.D." Keyes said. "In honesty, I actually found an opponent of interesting origin. He is one I shall gladly have dancing in the palm of my hand when I am through with him."

"Just go." E.N.D. said.

"Yes, sir." Both of them said and vanished to find opponents and left E.N.D. with his thoughts.

"These humans think they can stop me? They better think again." E.N.D. said. "I am the most powerful etherious. I will be their doom. I am their end. There is no other path for the humans than one that shall lead to their destruction." E.N.D. jumped off the building and crashed into the ground and spread some fire from his impact. E.N.D. will destroy everything and everyone that dares get in his path.

…

Laxus

Laxus and his friends were helping people out, but trouble found them. Tempester attacked and knocked them out and left Laxus to fend him off on his own. Laxus is looking for some payback for this.

"I'm warning you right now. You attacked my friends and I don't plan on showing any mercy because of that." Laxus said.

"Your threat is nothing, but empty words." Tempester said. "From what I've been told, you are among the strongest in that little guild of yours. Is that right? I have a hard time remembering. Maybe I'm confusing you for someone else. Time to see if that's true or if it's all nothing, but talk."

"That does it. Let's get this over with." Laxus said as he activated his duel disk and he was ready to go. Tempester summoned his own duel disk and he was ready to go.

"Let's duel!" Both of them said as they both had 4000LP and was ready to go.

"I will make the first move." Tempester said as he drew his first card. "I'll just place two cards facedown and that will be enough."

"What do you think I am? Some sort of amateur?" Laxus said. "Those two face-downs are clearly some sort of traps. I won't fall for them that easily."

"Is that so? Maybe they are. I'm not really sure." Tempester said.

'Is this guy just trying to psyche me out or does he really have a bad memory?' Laxus wondered. 'Oh well. No sense in really thinking about it.' "It's my turn!" Laxus drew his next card and knew to be careful of those two cards he has. "I summon Thunder Grip in attack mode." He summoned out a new armored warrior with giant metal gloves and had electricity through them with its attack points at 1500. "Now I activate my Levitating Thunder equip spell. When a thunder monster is equipped with this, it makes him immune to traps."

"Trying to protect yourself from my two cards? It won't help." Tempester said.

"Let's see if you're still saying that after I attack you directly!" Laxus said. "Attack with **Gripped Lightning**!" His monster unleashed electrical hands that grabbed Tempester and was electrocuting him with his life points dropping to 2500, but Tempester appeared to be enduring the attack. "Not so tough now, are you?"

"That jolt of electricity just reminded me of one of my face-downs." Tempester said. "I activate Calamity Damage. When I lose life points, this trap card deals the same damage to you." A blast of lightning came at Laxus and blasted him with his life points becoming equal to Tempester. "I thought you weren't going to fall for my traps."

'My bad. I thought he planned something to leave me defenseless, but I was wrong. He was willing to take a hit to deal some damage to me.' Laxus thought.

"I'm not sure, but I heard Tempester is my name. I heard others call me Calamity." Tempester said. "You won't survive this duel."

"Don't be so sure. This duel is far from over. I place one card facedown and end my turn." Laxus said.

"My turn!" Tempester said and drew his next card. "I activate Calamity Quake. This spell switches your monster in defense mode and it can't be switched by any card effect until the end of the turn." An earthquake was going on and Laxus was doing his best to resist it. He saw the ground opening up and his friends were going to fall.

"No!" Laxus said. Laxus' monster switched modes and was stuck in defense mode with it having 1700def points. When it switched modes, all the shaking stopped and Freed and the others were safe. "Leave my friends out of this."

"Why should I care what happens to you humans?" Tempester said. "Now I summon my Calamity Lion in attack mode." He summoned a dark lion with a black mane to the field, but it had no attack points. "I end my turn."

"Why would he summon a monster that has no attack points?" Laxus said. "What is he up to?"

"Are you going to make a move?" Tempester questioned.

"Fine. I draw!" Laxus said. "I'm summoning out Lightning Gargoyle in attack mode." He summoned out his gargoyle and it flew out with 1200atk points. "I'm also going to switch my Thunder Grip in attack mode." He changed his monster's battle position, but that caused Tempester's lion to unleash a sonic roar and its attack points dropped to 1000. "Hey! What just happened?"

"That would be my lion's ability. When a monster changes battle positions, my lion can take away some of its attack points." Tempester said.

"My two monsters together are still enough to finish you off. Lightning Gargoyle, you're first!" Laxus said. "When Lightning Gargoyle attacks, he gains 700atk points." His monster's attack points increased to 1900 and destroyed Tempester's lion with Tempesters' life points dropping to 700.

"I activate my trap." Tempester said and it was the same card he used earlier.

"Another Calamity Damage!" Laxus said.

"So now you lose life points." Tempester said.

"Not quite. I anticipated that." Laxus said. "I activate Blown Fuse. I was hoping to use this for later, but it looks like I won't need to. Since I have at least one thunder monster on the field, any damage I take this turn is reduced to zero."

"So my trap is powerless?" Tempester said.

"As are you! Thunder Grip, end this!" Laxus said. His monster unleashed a blast of lightning from its hands and blasted Tempester with all of his life points dropping to zero. Has an etherious really been beaten that badly?

…

Gray

"Go on ahead. You'll be okay." Gray said as he helped out a couple people and sent them off. He's been moving around the city and helping everyone he can.

"Gray, my love!" Gray looked down the street and saw Juvia heading his way.

"Hey, Juvia. Any sign of the enemy or Natsu yet?" Gray asked.

"Not yet." Juvia said. "They might be powerful, but they are only a small group and this is a large city. They could be anywhere."

"Well, they are looking for us. We'll just have to hope for the best." Gray said. 'I'm sure these are the same people Dad was talking about. That means they're just as responsible as Zeref for what happened to him. I'll take every one of them down if I have to.' He thought as he was still driven by revenge for his father. "Let's go. There could still be some people in need of some help."

"Right." Juvia agreed and they both took off, but what neither of them knew was that Keyes was following them in the shadows.

…..

Laxus

"It's over." Laxus said as he thought he beat him, but he saw the duel was still going and Tempester was still standing. "Hold on. How are you still standing? You should have no more life points."

"Should I?" Tempester. Laxus was right. He should have none left, but he saw something floating over Tempester. It looked like a humanoid lion.

"What is that thing?!" Laxus said.

"What's what?" Tempester said.

"Don't play games with me. What's that thing floating behind you? You have no life points left." Laxus said. "Is that thing somehow keeping you in the duel?"

"That actually sounds like the ability of a card in my deck known as Calamity Harbinger." Tempester said. "When I have no monsters on my field and my life points drop to zero while I have no monsters on the field, I'm able to keep dueling even when my life points drop to zero."

"Oh please. There must be a catch for some powerful card." Laxus said.

"Yes. One is that it must remain in my hand." Tempester said. "What's more is that I can still be defeated. I gain a calamity counter for every thousand points of damage I take. When I reach three, I lose."

"So all I have to do is deal at least a thousand points of damage at least three times and I'll win." Laxus said.

"Yes, but it won't be as easy as you think." Tempester said.

"We'll see about that. Make your move." Laxus said.

"Very well." Tempester said and drew his next card. "I place one card facedown. Then, I'm activating the Calamity Cyclone spell. It destroys every spell and trap card on the field when I have no monsters." A cyclone formed on the field and both of their cards as well as some of the buildings getting torn up.

"This guy is unpredictable. Why did you destroy your own card?" Laxus said.

"This trap activates the moment it is destroyed. I activate Painful Air." Tempester said. A small fog started to roll in and Laxus was a little cautious.

"What is this?" Laxus said. Suddenly he felt a lot of pain and it was hard for him to breathe and his monsters were feeling the same. "What's happening? What did you just do?"

"This trap makes you lose half of your life points and your monsters lose half of their attack points." Tempester said. Laxus' life points dropped to 1250 and his monsters grew weaker to 500 and 600atk points.

"Crud." Laxus said as he was trying to catch his breath. "This guy isn't messing around."

"Your terror is just starting." Tempester said. "I summon Calamity Wonderer to the field in attack mode." He summoned a figure of mystery with its face covered in a hood and it having 1300atk points. Things aren't looking good for Laxus. Tempester has turned all his attacks against him and is in his benefit.

'Oh man. This isn't looking good. I have to find some way to beat this guy.' Laxus thought. 'I have a feeling if I can't, this guy will be a walking calamity that could actually destroy everything.'

To Be Continued….


	30. A Thunderous Disaster

Just when it seems like things are looking good for Magnolia, there's always something that looks bad. Laxus was in his most serious and challenging duel. He was against Tempester and Tempester had his Calamity Wonderer at 1300atk points, but also a powerful card called Calamity Harbinger.

"Give up. With Calamity Harbinger, I can keep dueling even when my life points have reached zero." Tempester said. Laxus wasn't looking so good. He had 1250LP with his Thunder Grip and Lightning Gargoyle at 500 and 600atk points.

"Never." Laxus said. "I just need to deal at least a thousand points of damage to you about three times and you automatically lose."

"Suffering it is." Tempester said. "Calamity Wonderer, destroy his Thunder Grip!" His wonderer's eyes glowed under the hood and called on a powerful force of wind and blasted Laxus' monster. Laxus got hit hard by the wind and was knocked down with his life points dropping to 450. "You don't have a card that can allow you to keep dueling when your life points reach zero, do you?"

"I won't need it." Laxus said as he stood back up. "I can beat you without one. So are you done yet?"

"For now." Tempester said.

"So it's my turn!" Laxus said and drew his next card. 'There are two ways I can beat this guy. Either I can deal a grand total of 3000 points of damage, where he gains a calamity counter for each 1000 or I can get that Calamity Harbinger out of his hand. Too bad I don't have a card in my hand that can do either of that.' He thought. 'However, he has to keep that card in his hand and if he can't play anything else, I can use that to my advantage.'

"Well? What are you waiting for?" Tempester said.

"Nothing. I tribute Lightning Gargoyle to summon Thunder Titan!" Laxus said. His gargoyle vanished and in his place was an armored giant in white and gold armor and had 2400atk points. "Thunder Titan, take out his wonderer! **Thunder Wrath Strike**!" His titan called on the forces of thunder and had them struck down on the wonderer. When it was destroyed, a black orb of energy appeared next to Tempester and it had the number one in it.

"A calamity counter." Tempester said.

"That's one. I did just enough damage." Laxus said. "There's more. When my titan attacks a monster, I gain life points equal to half the attack points of the monster he destroyed. Your wonderer had 1300atk points. That means I gain 650LP." Laxus gained life points and they went to 1100. "I think that should be enough for this turn."

"And so your turn comes to an end." Tempester said and when he said that, his wonderer returned to the field and its attack points increased to 1500.

"What? How did it come back stronger?" Laxus said.

"Calamity Wonderer's ability allows it to resurrect at the end of the turn with 200atk points stronger when I have no monsters on the field." Tempester said. "It's my turn now." Tempester drew his next card and Laxus was careful with what he did. "I activate Revived Calamity. This brings back all the calamity cards I have in my graveyard, whatever ones they are, and place them back in my deck. After that, I can draw until I hold three cards." Tempester placed all his cards back and drew two new cards.

'Great. Those cards are what put me in this predicament.' Laxus thought. 'Now he has them back and who knows what else.'

"I place one card facedown to end my turn." Tempester said.

"It's my turn!" Laxus said and drew his next card. 'Attacking his wonderer now is pointless. If I destroy it, he won't gain a counter and that thing will come back even stronger.' He thought. 'I bet his facedown is a trap to deal damage to me. So I need to prevent it from activating.' "I activate Broken System. Since there is a thunder or machine monster out on the field, this spell card prevents you from activating any of your spell or trap cards." A bolt of lightning came down and blasted Tempester's card and kept it locked. "You could still activate it, but you have to surrender 800LP to do that."

"But I don't have any life points." Tempester said.

"Exactly." Laxus said. "If you don't have any life points to giveaway, you can't activate your card this turn. Now I'm summoning my Monster Reborn. This spell card brings back Lightning Gargoyle." His gargoyle returned to the field and had all 1200atk points.

"Not good." Tempester said.

"Not good is right!" Laxus said. "Thunder Titan, attack his wonderer again!" His titan had lightning strike down again and destroyed it. "Now I gain more life points." Laxus gained more life points and was now at 1850. "Lightning Gargoyle can now attack directly and that's another counter!" His gargoyle attacked and slashed against Tempester and Tempester gained another counter. "One more counter to go and this duel will be over."

"Is there anything else you're going to try? Are you done yet?" Tempester said.

"Yeah. I'm done." Laxus said.

"Good. That means Calamity Wonderer comes back and is even stronger." Tempester said and his wonderer came back and now had 1700atk points. "It's my turn now." Tempester drew his next card and was ready for anything. "I'm activating the Calamity Inferno spell card. This spell card destroys every card that's currently on the field."

"Oh man." Laxus said as he didn't like this. A burst of fire came out of the ground and destroyed every monster on the field and did some damage around the area. Laxus was afraid his friends were hurt. "This is bad. I need to end this fast before Freed, the others, or someone else gets hurt."

"Now I activate Calamity Cyclone to destroy my own trap card." Tempester said. The cyclone blew around and destroyed his trap card.

"I think I know what that trap really is. I knew it dealt damage, but not like this." Laxus said.

"Did I already play this? It's the trap called Painful Air." Tempester said.

"Yeah. You used it before and I hated how it felt." Laxus said. "I'm going to lose half of my life points." The air around him became harmful to breathe and Laxus was feeling it. It became too painful for him and he dropped to his knees with his life points dropping to 925.

"Still have the strength to keep fighting?" Tempester said. It was hard for Laxus to breathe, but he was doing his best to stay strong.

"I'm far from beaten." Laxus said.

"I intend for this to be your last turn." Tempester said. "I activate Cataclysmic Results. I can only activate this if there is nothing left on the field. Come my next turn, this spell card will destroy your life points by a grand total of 2000."

"So this is my last chance to take you down. I'm not worried." Laxus said. "You have nothing left on your field. One attack and that will be it for you."

"You won't get the chance." Tempester said. "I'm summoning Calamity Survivor in defense mode." He summoned out a thin lion humanoid in rags and had no defense points. "You won't be able to touch me. Calamity Survivor can't be destroyed in battle and it can't be destroyed by a monster's special ability when it's on the field."

"Are you serious?!" Laxus said. This really was Laxus' last chance to stop this walking living calamity. Laxus looked at his hand and saw his only hope. 'If I can get Heaveledge out I know I can win this, but his special ability can't help. It all comes down to one last draw. Natsu, I actually wonder what you would do in a situation like this.'

"Make your final move." Tempester said.

'I know what Natsu would do. He would believe in his deck. I believe.' Laxus thought and went for it. "I draw!" Laxus drew a monster and it was just the one he needed. "This duel is just about over."

"What are you talking about?" Tempester questioned.

"Your monster can't be destroyed by what's on the field, but what about what's not on the field?" Laxus said, but Tempester didn't really understand. "Thanks to his special ability, I can destroy one monster to special summon Thunder Jaws." Electricity in the form of lightning chomped around Tempester's monster came on the field. "The bad part is that it loses all of its attack points when it is summoned this way."

"No attack points? Don't you need that to attack?" Tempester asked.

"True, but I have his other ability." Laxus said. "He can be used as two sacrifices in a tribute summon. So I'm summoning out Heaveledge the Lightning Dragon!" Laxus sacrificed his monster, but it burst a flash of lightning and called out Laxus' might dragon made out of lightning and it held 4000atk points.

"4000atk points?! This can't really be happening?!" Tempester said.

"It can and did." Laxus said. "You attacked my friends and hurt a bunch of people. Not to mention you, your creepy friends, and your lord turned one of our own against us. You're paying and you're paying big. You might be some sort of walking calamity, but I'm a thunderous disaster willing to destroy anything that gets in his way. Heaveledge, put an end to this! Attack with **Roaring Thunder**!" Heaveledge unleashed a powerful blast of lightning and Tempester got caught in it. It sent Tempester's counters off the charts. The dark orb that was near him exploded and formed a large black orb around him and Tempester got caught in it. Tempester felt the power and was getting torn up in it. The black orb exploded and Laxus tried to resist it. When it cleared away, Laxus saw Tempester was gone and another etherious was beaten. "Good riddance. Guys!" Laxus ran over to his friends and tried to help them out. "Freed, wake up. Can you hear me?" Freed coughed up a little, but he was able to wake up.

"Laxus? What just happened?" Freed said.

"It was one of those etherious, but I was able to take care of him." Laxus said.

"As if there would be any other result." Freed said.

"Can you stand?" Laxus said.

"I think so." Freed said as he was able to get on his feet.

"Help me with Ever and Bickslow." Laxus said. "I'll help you guys find a place you can rest. After that, I'm going out to find Natsu and try and help him."

"Right." Freed said. The two of them grabbed their friends and got moving again.

'Hang in there until we reach you, Natsu.' Laxus thought. 'The others had to have beaten some of these guys by now. Hopefully there isn't that many left before we can reach you.' So Laxus continued forward. This is one storm that won't be silenced until all the etherious are beaten and their friend is rescued.

…

Gray and Juvia

Gray and Juvia searched through the city, but it seems to have been evacuated now. The part of Magnolia they were in was a bare road. There wasn't anyone left.

"No one is here. It's like a ghost town." Juvia said.

"Most people either have been victims by the etherious or they hopefully managed to get out of here." Gray said. "Let's keep going." The two of them were going to keep moving, but Gray heard a can hit the ground and rolled. Gray turned around and had his guard up.

"Is something wrong, darling?" Juvia asked.

"Be quiet for a minute." Gray said.

'Be quiet? What does he mean?' Juvia thought and soon her wild imagination got the better of her. 'Does he want this moment to be silent for the two of us can share one kiss in this time of doom? Is he trying to be romantic?'

"I don't think we're alone." Gray said.

"Yes. We're alone." Juvia said as she was ready to make her move.

"I said we're not!" Gray said and Juvia snapped out of it. "Come out! I know you're there. Quit hiding like some sort of coward."

"So you sense my presence? Impressive." They heard a voice echo in the air. A black mist came around them and it took shape of Keyes.

"It's that skeleton!" Juvia said as she was able to recognize him.

"Who or what are you?" Gray said.

"I am Keyes. The black archbishop and proud necromancer in the service of Lord Zeref." Keyes said.

"A necromancer?" Gray said and he was soon able to put the pieces together. "Hang on. Are you responsible for what went on with my father? His name was Silver Fullbuster."

"You're the kin of Silver? I figured you were." Keyes said. "Your father was a most amusing puppet. He made a great story, an article in my glorious saga."

"Did you say my father was a puppet?! He was some sort of piece for your own little story?!" Gray said as he was getting real angry now. "I've bene trying to find the one responsible for what happened to him. Looks like I found him. It's a bad thing that you found me. Now that you have….you won't be walking away!" One thing now lies on the mind of this young duelist: revenge.


	31. Rise from the Departed

Lots of emotions are being felt around Magnolia. One that seemed stronger was the feelings Gray was having, feelings of revenge. He was faced with Keyes, the necromancer of Zeref and the one responsible for bringing his father back and making him suffer. Gray would love nothing more than to bring him down.

"You dare challenge me? You're clouded by anger." Keyes said. "That's the problem with you mortals. You let your emotions get the better of you and cloud your judgement. It shall be your downfall."

"I say shut your lip, but you don't have one." Gray said. "Just bring out your duel disk and I can crush your remains to nothing."

"Gray, wait." Juvia said as she grabbed his arm to get his attention. "I don't like to agree with the skeleton, but he's right. You deserve to have your revenge against him, but don't let it cloud your judgement."

"I won't." Gray said as he was starting to calm down. "You're right, Juvia. I promise I'll be careful, but there's no way I'm going to let this guy escape. He has to pay for what he's done to my father."

"So you truly desire to face me. So be it, boy." Keyes said. "Go on and try for it shall lead to your demise. Perhaps I'll use you like I used your human father." Keyes apparently loves pressing Gray's buttons.

"Let's go!" Gray said as he activated his duel disk and was ready to go.

"Very well." Keyes said as his staff turned into mist and formed around his arm and turned into a skeletal-design duel disk. "Once I am through with you, we will have a new servant fighting for us." Both of them activated their duel disks and Gray's revenge for his father might help him win.

"Let's duel/Duel!" Both of them said and had 4000LP each. Juvia stayed back and was cheering for Gray, but she was also concerned for him.

"My dear love, I have no doubt that you will win.' Juvia thought. 'I just hope this awful skeleton won't try anything. Stay strong and I know you will prevail.'

"I'm making the first move." Gray said and drew his first card. "I'm starting this duel by summoning out my Ice-Make: Scythe to the field in attack mode." He summoned out his scythe warrior and it rose up with 1700atk points. "I place one card facedown and end my turn."

"Warriors forged from ice. Interesting." Keyes said. "Let's see if you'll ice will remain strong or if it will break under my power."

"Just make your move." Gray said.

"Very well." Keyes said and he drew his card. He drew a gate spell that will be very helpful to him and very dangerous to Gray. He left it in his hand and went for another card. "I summon Fallen Reviver in attack mode." He summoned out a purple cloak monster with a skull for a face and it had 1000atk points. "I activate his ability. It brings out a revive token to the field." A skeleton came out of the ground with it having zero attack points.

"How is a skeleton with no attack points going to help?" Gray said.

"You're about to find out." Keyes said. "I activate Energy of Departure. It grants all my monsters power by 500 for every zombie that is on the field. I possess two." Both his monster's gained power and their attack points increased to 2000 and 1000. "Now to begin the prologue, your demise before you fall to my power. Fallen Reviver, attack his warrior." His reviver went on the attack and he seemed finished.

"Not so fast!" Gray said. "I'm activate Ice Blockade. When you attack my monster, not only does it survive, but you can't attack with that monster anymore." His monster hit a wall of ice and his reviver ended up frozen.

"Very well. I end my turn for now." Keyes said. "Since my turn comes to an end, my servants return to their original power." His skeletons dropped back to normal power.

"My turn!" Gray said and drew his next card. "Just who I was hoping for. I'm summoning out the tuner monster called Freeze Maker." He summoned his flying air conditioner with it having 1100atk points. "Now I tune my level three Freeze Maker with level four Ice-Make: Scythe." His machine turned into three green circles that came around his warrior and turned it into four stars. A beam shot through and Gray summoned out a new monster. "I synchro summon Ice-Make: Cold Excalibur!" His warrior was dressed like loyalty with a giant sword and carried 2600atk points.

"A powerful monster that represents the strength of a king. However, even a king is not without weaknesses." Keyes said.

"Oh yeah? Here's Cold Excalibur's strength. He can attack every monster on your field!" Gray said. "Excalibur, attack with **Frozen Legend Slash**!" His monster jumped and slashed against both of Keyes' monsters and destroyed all of them.

"Yes! If that attack worked, Gray won!" Juvia said. "I knew that bag of bones stand no chance." Gray thought he had it, but he did think something was wrong.

"That was way too easy." Gray said.

"You are right." Keyes said as the smoke cleared away and he still had life points. His life points sat at 2400.

"I don't understand. How could he have any life points left?" Juvia said.

"That is the power of my token." Keyes said. "I take no damage when it was destroyed. I still took damage, but I still live."

"I'm far from beaten myself. I end my turn." Gray said. "There is something I do want to ask you."

"Ask away. This could be your last chance to get answer that you seek." Keyes said.

"You really are the one that brought my father back after his accident?" Gray said.

"Of course. I do believe I mentioned that before." Keyes said.

"How? Why him?" Gray said. "I want to know why you did this to my father of all people."

"So you wish to know the reasons of my actions?" Keyes said. "I have no problem telling you such reasons. I wish to test my powers."

"Say what?" Gray said.

"There was no real reason I chose your father." Keyes said. "I sensed a strong spirit when I used my powers and it just so happens that he was your father."

"So it really was just bad luck that it was Gray's father." Juvia said.

"His spirit was strong." Keyes said. "I wanted to test my powers on such a spirit, but I anticipated I could handle it since it was just a human spirit. I made him live once more and he was an asset to us. He gave us info on our enemies, but it seems it was all for naught. Nevertheless, his services aid in my experiments. His service will be most useful in the stories of my saga." Keyes chuckled in amusement at his own actions.

"How cruel and heartless. He doesn't seem to have any regret for what he's done." Juvia said as she was mad for Gray.

"You mean you used my father as part of some crazy experiment?" Gray said as he was getting angry. "You just used him to test your own powers and abilities? You're going to pay for that you walking pile of bones! No one does that with to him!"

"There lies the weakness with you humans." Keyes said. "You're letting your emotions influence you. Defeating you shall be easy and I shall make you a puppet just like your father. You will share his fate."

"Never! I'm taking you down! I'm in this for my father!" Gray said.

"So be it." Keyes said and drew his next card. "You shall witness true suffering as your own monsters are destroyed and serve me just like your father had."

"What are you talking about?" Gray said.

"I activate a personal favorite of mine." Keyes said. "I activate Necro Gate." A black gate rose from behind Keyes and they didn't like this. The doors opened up and it looked like a set of jaws was on the other side. The jaws opened up and a portal was on the other side. Gray and Juvia could feel the wind as the gate had a strong force being pulled into it.

"What's going on?" Gray said.

"What is that gate? I never heard of it before." Juvia said. Something was going on with Gray's monster as well.

"Excalibur?" Gray questioned. Suddenly, Excalibur was disintegrated and the remains were pulled into the gate. "Excalibur! No!" The gate closed and everything was normal again.

"What just happened?" Juvia said.

"Good question. What did you just do?" Gray said.

"That's the power of Necro Gate." Keyes said. "It drags every monster that stands on the field to their doom. Once they cross through that gate, they are lost. There's more."

"More? What more could that gate do?" Gray said.

"Whatever monster that was on the field, even if it was just for an instant, comes back under my control." Keyes said.

"You're kidding!" Gray said.

"I do not joke." Keyes said. "I shall bring back the same monster you just used against me. Return from the beyond, Ice-Make: Cold Excalibur!" The gate reopened and what went in and came out Gray's monster with it under Keyes control.

"No!" Gray said. "You had my father turn against me and now my own monsters?! You sick warped monster!"

"Seeing your expression brings such joy to me." Keyes said. "What delicious irony shall be brought when you are attacked by your own monster."

"You wouldn't dare." Gray said.

"I do dare." Keyes said. "Cold Excalibur, strike at your former master and do it with such cold heartedness." Gray's own monster was force to obey Keyes. It slashed against Gray and Gray screamed as he felt a lot of pain from that attack.

"Gray! No!" Juvia shouted as she was afraid of what happened to him. Gray dropped to one knee and was trying to catch his breath. Gray's life points dropped all the way to 1400. Juvia ran over and tried to help him stand. "Gray, are you okay?"

"I think so." Gray said. "It only hurts when I laugh, but I don't think that's going to be a problem for a while." Gray stared at Keyes and had much hatred in his eyes for him. "I'm going to get you for that."

"I think not." Keyes said. "Since the end of the battle has come, your monster returns to the grave." Cold Excalibur turned to dust and returned to the graveyard.

"That's a powerful and dangerous card he has." Juvia said.

"Yeah. I have a feeling since that card is his favorite, he has a way to bring it back." Gray said. "I don't think we've seen the last of it."

"Indeed you haven't." Keyes said. "My Necro Gate has one last ability that is most useful."

"I knew it." Gray said.

"Concern you should be." Keyes said. "All I must do is not draw a card on my next turn and I shall have Necro Gate in my hand once more."

"So it can destroy every card on the field, allow him to control a monster for one attack, and it can return to his hand?" Juvia said. "All he has to do is not draw a card."

"That is right, little girl." Keyes said. "Soon, you both shall travel through a gate as well, but there will be no return."

"Don't think you're all that." Gray said. "Every card has some kind of weakness and I think I might know what it is with yours. Your little strategy has some flaws. I just need to get the right cards."

"You won't last that long." Keyes said as he's putting Keyes in a serious situation. "I shall use the power of your own cards against you and your desire for vengeance will all be in vain. You shall never avenge your father."

To Be Cotinued….


	32. Revenge of the Ice Demon

Gray was in a predicament. He and Juvia were faced with Keyes and Keyes is more than just a skeleton. Upon learning that Keyes was responsible for what became of Silver Fullbuster, Gray desires revenge for his father. However, Keyes has proven to be a real challenge in this duel. Especially since he possesses a powerful card known as Necro Gate.

"The gate of the netherworld beckons." Keyes said. Nothing was on the field. Keyes had 2400LP and Gray had 1400. "Make peace while you can."

"This isn't over yet." Gray said.

"You can do it, Gray. I know you can win this." Juvia said.

"Your friend supports you, but it will all be in vain." Keyes said. "It will be your fate to lose and to become my slave."

"Never!" Gray said. "It's my turn! I draw!" Gray drew his next card and he knew what to do. "You might be able to bring that Necro Gate of yours back, but it leaves you wide open. I'm also guessing you don't have anything in your hand that can help you out on the field. Since you can't draw a card to get Necro Gate back, you'll be left defenseless."

"So you think you've figured out the flaws of my strategy?" Keyes said. "Well, you'll have to bring out a monster that's powerful enough to take out the rest of my life."

'He's got a point. I got nothing that can do that now. The minute he plays Necro Gate, I could be done for. At least that's what he thinks.' Gray thought. "I summon my Ice-Make: Lancer in attack mode." Gray summoned out his lancer and it came out with 1400atk points. "Next, I'm activating Super Freezer! This spell will transform my Lancer into a more powerful monster. I'm summoning out Ice-Make: Freeze Lancer!" His warrior changed into a dark blue with spikes of ice sticking out and now had 1500atk points. "Freeze Lancer, strike him directly with **Freezing Lance Strike**!" Energy spiraled around its lance and nailed Keyes with it.

"Yes!" Juvia cheered.

'I know that didn't finish him, but he should have only 900LP left.' Gray thought. 'At least that's something and I have something that can hold me out for next turn.' Gray waited for the dust to clear away, but he saw Keyes didn't take any damage. "Are you kidding me?!"

"He didn't take any damage?! How can that be?!" Juvia said.

"Curious? This is why." Keyes said as he held out a monster card. "Necro Skull. When you attack me directly, I can send this card to the graveyard and I take no damage."

"That creepy skeleton pulled another sneaky maneuver." Juvia said.

"Its fine, Juvia." Gray said. "He's got only two cards left in his hand. Since he's refusing to draw, I just need to be cautious of those two."

"How foolish." Keyes said. "You have plenty to worry about? So what shall you do now? Will you make another maneuver?"

"Yeah. I'll just play one card facedown and end my turn." Gray said.

"Very well." Keyes said. "I choose not to draw a card. By doing that, I can have Necro Gate return to my hand." His card came from his graveyard and returned to his hand. "Now I will activate it." The dark gate rose from the ground and opened up with it sucking everything up.

"Keep back, Juvia!" Gray said as he was trying to resist the pull himself and Juvia was trying not to get pulled in.

"I'm sure you remember what this card can do." Keyes said. "It destroys all monsters that are on the field and sends them to the grave." Gray's lancer broke apart to dust and was pulled into the gate with it closing. "Now I shall bring back one monster that has already been on the field. I think I shall change things. Rise from the departed Ice-Make: Freeze Lancer." The gate opened up and the monster that was just destroyed came back on Keyes field.

"I'm really getting annoyed with this guy." Gray said.

"Freeze Lancer, attack your former master and bring me victory." Keyes said. Gray's own monster had energy around his weapon and went to attack Gray.

'No! If this works, Gray is done for!' Juvia thought as she was afraid now.

"I activate Space Freeze!" Gray said. "This trap card switches the attack points of one monster with their defense points. However, if the defense points are lower than the monster's attack points, that monster can no longer attack as long as this trap remains on the field. Sorry, old friend." Freeze Lancer's attack points changed to 1000def points and it caused Lancer to freeze in midair.

"Using your trap on one of your own monsters. That must be so hard for you." Keyes said with a chuckle hidden in there.

"You really are a creep." Gray said. "I can't wait for you to be shut up good. Since we reached the end of your battle phase, Freeze Lancer has to go back to the graveyard." Freeze Lancer turned to dust and was gone with Gray's trap.

"It might be the end the battle, but it's not the end of my turn." Keyes said. "First, I shall place one card facedown. Then, I'm activating Dark Refresh. When I have no cards in my hand, I can draw five more cards, but I'm not allowed to play any of them this turn."

"Are you serious?!" Gray said. Keyes drew five cards and had a fresh hand.

"Since he already brought Necro Gate back, he didn't have to worry about drawing cards." Juvia said. "He had that spell ready."

"Now we've reached the end of my turn. Your rations seem to be scarce. Do you think you can pull out some sort of miracle?" Keyes said.

"You haven't seen what a Fairy Tail duelist can really do you, you bag of bones." Gray said and drew his next card. "I summon my Ice-Make: Grappling Hook to the field in defense mode." He summoned out his warrior with it having 400def points. "Now I use one of his three abilities. I choose the one to draw one card." Gray drew a card and liked what he got. "Excellent, I'm activating Pot of Greed. Now I can draw two more cards." Gray drew two more cards and he liked what he got. "Look at that. I got my favorite tuner monster. I summon Ice Maker in attack mode as well." His machine came on the field with 1100def points. "Now I use Ice Maker's ability to bring back one of my monsters. I'll bring back my Scythe." His scythe warrior returned to the field with 1700atk points.

"Trying to overwhelm me. It won't work." Keyes said. "I activate my Necromancer's Power trap. This gives me a necro skull token for every open slot I have on my field." Five skulls surrounded by dark energy came on the field with 500def points.

"No. Now he has five monsters and Gray can't attack." Juvia said.

"You may have some defenses, but I'm not beaten yet." Gray said. "I activate Ice Refreshment. Now I gain 300LP for every one of my monsters." Gray's life points rose to 2300. "Scythe, attack one of his skull tokens." His warrior went on the attack and destroyed one of them. "Ice Maker, you attack one too!" His machine unleashed a blast of cold air and destroyed another token.

"Curious." Keyes said. "You have a tuner monster and two monsters you could use synchro summon, but you haven't synchro summon. What are you plotting?"

"You'll find out soon enough." Gray said. "I place one card facedown and end my turn."

"Oh no. That means it's his turn again and he'll have that Necro Gate back in his hand."

"Of course, my dear." Keyes said. "I choose to bring Necro Gate back to my hand instead of drawing a card." Necro Gate returned to his hand. "I now choose to activate it."

"Here it comes." Juvia said as she was worried on what might happen. The gate appeared once more and it opened up. All of Gray's monsters were pulled inside and were destroyed, but none of Keyes' monsters were destroyed.

"Hold on. I thought all of your monsters would be destroyed too. How come those skulls survived?" Gray said.

"These tokens can't be destroyed by the effects of spell cards." Keyes said.

"Are you serious?" Gray said.

"Oh no. He's left defenseless now." Juvia said.

"Yes. I shall end this with another one of your own monsters. Return once more, Cold Excalibur." Keyes said. The gate reopened and Gray's Cold Excalibur came out on the field and held 2600atk points. "This is where it ends! Farewell!" Excalibur went on the attack and slashed against Gray.

"Gray, no!" Juvia shouted.

"It's over." Keyes said.

"Not quite." Gray said. They were all surprised to see that Gray was still standing and had 1200LP remaining.

"How can this be?" Keyes said.

"I had my trap." Gray said as he showed the card. "Spirit of the Frozen Warrior. I can only activate this card when at least three monsters are destroyed."

"So that's why he didn't synchro summon." Juvia said.

"I knew you would pull off that trick again." Gray said. "This card weakens all the damage I would have taken by 500 for every monster that was destroyed."

"Clever, but it won't save you." Keyes said as Gray's own monster was destroyed.

"My trap has one more effect. All my monsters return to the field, but I'm no longer able to attack with them." Gray said. All his monsters came back and he still had a chance.

"That's my darling! He is so smart and cunning!" Juvia said.

"Very well. I end my turn." Keyes said. Gray was getting ready to draw his card, but he was a little anxious.

'If I don't get a good draw right now, I'm done for.' Gray thought.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling the pressure?" Keyes taunted. "Your father was a weak human just like you. Even if you'll be defeated and the ties you have with your father will be severed." Keyes was starting to get to him. If Gray fails, he'll fail his father.

"Silence, fiend!" Juvia shouted. "Gray's bond with his father is stronger than you think. No one, not even you can break that bond. I know Gray will find some way to defeat you and avenge his father."

"Juvia…" Gray said and was actually touched by what she said. He found strength to keep going. "Thanks, Juvia. Time to end this. I draw!" Gray drew his next card and that was the spell he needed that will turn all of this around. "Yes! First, I'm activating my Level Donation spell card. By sacrificing one monster, I can change the level of one monster on the field up to the level of the monster I sacrificed. I choose Grappling Hook to increase my Ice Maker's level by one." His monster was tribute and Ice Maker became level three. "Let's do this together, Dad. I tune level three Ice Maker with level four Scythe!" His two monsters combined their power in a synchro summon. "I synchro summon Absolute Zero Demon!" His new monster came on the field with 2800atk points.

"That was Silver's monster." Keyes said.

"That's right." Gray said. "This is for my father. I'm activating Concentrated Aurora. This allows one monster to deal piercing damage. Absolute Zero Demon, pick a skull and take it out! **Ice Rage**!" Absolute Zero Demon unleashed the cold blast from its trident with a rainbow color to it and destroyed the token. "Concentrated Aurora has another effect. All monsters with the same name are banished."

"Did you forget that my tokens can't be destroyed by spells?" Keyes said.

"I know. That's why they're being banished. Banish isn't the same as being destroyed." Gray said. "What's more is that you lose 500LP for every monster banished, plus the damage from the attack."

"What?! No!" Keyes said. All his cards were destroyed and explosion went off that blew Keyes back with all of his life points dropping to zero.

"I knew you would win!" Juvia cheered as she ran to him and hugged him. Gray didn't even bother fighting her off. His mind was elsewhere.

'Dad, wherever you are, I know I did you proud.' Gray thought as he looked at his father's card.

"Defeated by a human." Keyes said. "What a tragic ending for a glorious tale." Keyes turned to stardust and was sent away.

…

Kyoka

Kyoka saw stardust from the rooftops. She was aware of all the battles that happened and now had to take this serious now more than ever.

"Keyes has been defeated." Kyoka said. "Other than Master E.N.D., I am the last of the etherious. I won't let them down." Kyoka looked down and she spotted Erza and Lucy. "I shall destroy all these humans for the etherious!" Kyoka might be the last of the etherious, but she'll destroy everything and everyone all for her masters.


	33. Pain Gain

The threat may have been weakened, but the etherious aren't finished yet. All, but one of them has been defeated. At the moment, Erza and Lucy are moving through Magnolia. They may have gotten caught up in an incident or two, but they're still going.

"Lots of crazy stuff has been going on." Lucy said. "Do you think everyone else is okay?"

"I'm sure they're all fine." Erza said. "We still need to be on guard in case an enemy tries to attack us. So far, we haven't faced one yet."

"That's a good thing." Lucy said. "Gives us a better chance to find Natsu. I won't let any etherious get in my way."

"Don't make me laugh." All of them looked up and that is where they were faced with Kyoka.

"It's her! I remember seeing her in that other world." Lucy said.

"You think you're even worthy of facing Master E.N.D.?" Kyoka said. "Master E.N.D. will crush you just like any other human." Kyoka jumped down and landed across from them. "You won't get the chance. I will take you both down."

"That won't happen." Erza said.

"If you know where Natsu is, tell us now." Lucy said.

"You have the nerve to actually give me a demand? I might enjoy bringing pain to you." Kyoka said. "I might be the last of E.N.D.'s loyal servants, but I shall not fall so easily."

"The last of the etherious? I bet that means everyone else was successful in defeating all the others." Erza said.

"Good. If we get them out of the way, that gives us a better chance to reach Natsu." Lucy said as she had her duel disk ready to go, but Erza held out her arm and kept her from doing anything. "Erza, what is it?"

"Lucy, I think it might be best you let me handle this." Erza said.

"You? How come?" Lucy said.

"I know you want to save Natsu and there is only one way to do that." Erza said. "I'll be the one to handle this. You save your strength. I will handle this one."

"Hang on. Are you saying I would have to duel, Natsu?" Lucy said.

"Perhaps. Someone will have to and I think the closer the friend, the better the chance we have of saving him." Erza said. "You and Natsu are the closest I've ever seen in the guild. If anyone can save him, you can. So let me handle this one."

"You think you can defeat me on your own?" Kyoka said. "I always do find the pleasure of the torment of humans. I suppose it doesn't really matter. Are you ready to meet your doom?"

"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you. A friend of ours needs our help and you won't get in the way." Erza said.

"Are you talking about that pitiful human that Lord Zeref has reshaped into E.N.D.?" Kyoka said. "Accept the fact that he's gone." Kyoka summed out her duel disk on her arm and was ready for some action.

"Don't be so sure. Our friend needs our help and a bunch of monsters like you" Erza said as she activated her duel disk. This just might be the last duel with an etherious and the last etherious might fall here.

"Let's duel!" Both of them said and had 4000LP.

"Superiority over your kind." Kyoka said and drew her first card. "I'll start by activating the continuous spell known as Painful Lesson." Erza wasn't familiar with that card. Suddenly, thorny vines came out from that card and wrapped around Erza and Kyoka. Just as they appeared, they disappeared.

"What was that?" Erza said.

"It's quite simple. Any time I take effect damage, I gain back half the life points by draining them out of your life points." Kyoka said.

"Say what?" Erza said.

"I'll show you as I activate another spell card. It's called Triggered Trap." Kyoka said. "I must surrender 1000LP to activate this card, but I will be able to activate a trap from my hand." Kyoka was electrocuted and her life points lowered to 3000. "Now my spell kicks in." Erza felt her energy being drained and Kyoka gained some if. Now they both had 3500LP.

"Erza, are you okay?" Lucy said.

"I'm fine. Not the first I was in a duel where damage was real." Erza said.

"So you think you can take it. We'll see about that." Kyoka said. "Thanks to my spell, I can now activate Effect Punisher continuous trap. Thanks to this trap card, any effect damage we both take will be doubled."

"She's willing to hurt herself in order to beat Erza?" Lucy said.

"Nothing wrong with a little pain. It's just like they say. No pain, no gain." Kyoka said. "I place one card facedown and summon a monster facedown in defense mode. I think that will be enough for this turn."

"My turn!" Erza said, but she drew a spell card that won't be much help. 'My Body As A Shield. In order to use this spell, I have to surrender 1500LP. However, her trap card will double that and I'll take 3000 points of damage. Too risky.' "I'll summon out Black Wing Armor in attack mode." She summoned out her female black armored warrior that had wings and flew out with 1700atk points. "I should warn you that when she attacks a monster with weaker defense points, the difference will come back to you as damage. Black Wing Armor, attack! **Moon Slash**!" Her monster went on the attack and sliced right through Kyoka's monster. Her monster was a white feathered monster with claws and had only 700def points. Kyoka's life points dropped to 2500, but she didn't seem worried.

"Thank you." Kyoka said.

"Why are you thanking me?" Erza said.

"The monster you just destroyed was Trap Imp." Kyoka said. "When that little one is flipped over, I can take a trap card from my deck and place it facedown." Kyoka set a card and Erza was being careful.

"I place a face-down of my own and end my turn." Erza said.

"I'm starting to like you." Kyoka said. "You've got some power and you really know how to deal some damage. It's my turn!"

"Be careful, Erza. She's up to something." Lucy said.

"I'm aware of that, but if she's trying to strike fear in me, it won't work." Erza said.

"We'll see about that." Kyoka said. "I activate my trap. It's called Pain Revival. This trap card brings back one monster in my graveyard if I choose to surrender 500 of my life points."

"But your own Effect Punisher will double that." Erza said.

"Exactly." Kyoka said as her life points dropped to 1500. "However, I regain half of it from your life points." Erza felt her energy being painfully drained and given to Kyoka. Now Erza had 3000LP and Kyoka had 2000.

"Stay strong, Erza. You can beat her." Lucy said.

"I doubt that. I'm bringing back is Trap Imp." Kyoka said and her little creature came back with 700def points. "My trap also allows me to summon the other two that are in my deck." The other two joined on the field with the same defense points.

"Three level three monsters." Erza said. "I think I have an idea as to where this might be going."

"So you know what's coming? I won't make you wait." Kyoka said. "I overlay all three of my monsters to build the overlay network to xyz summon." All three of them became green energy and entered a portal. "I xyz summon Enhance Punisher!" Kyoka summoned out a female monster with claws and white feathers around her arms and legs with a purple outfit and a helmet. It also had 2000atk points.

"Is that all? It doesn't look that tough." Lucy said, but she was trying to hide the fact that she was nervous.

"It's more dangerous than you think. I activate Enhance Punisher's ability. For every spell and trap card that's on the field, she gains 300atk points." Kyoka said. "It just costs me one overlay unit." One overlay unit entered her claws and she was gaining power. "There are four spell or trap cards currently on the field. That means she gains 1200atk points. Go, **Enhance Strengthener**!" Her power rose to 3200. "Now I can activate my other trap card. It's called Battle Punisher."

"I don't like the sound of that." Lucy said.

"I'm not afraid." Erza said.

"You should be worried just like your little friend." Kyoka said. "Battle Punisher doubles any battle damage we take."

"Doubles battle damage?" Lucy said and did the math. "Oh no! If she attacks, Erza will lose a grand total of 3000LP and that's all she has left."

"Try not to feel too bad. You never really stood a chance." Kyoka said. "Enhance Punisher, attack her Black Wing Armor with **Overdriven Lasher**!" Kyoka's monster formed energy around her claws and lashed Black Wing Armor at it.

"Not so fast!" Erza said. "I'm activating Negate Attack. This trap stops your attack and the battle phase automatically ends." A force field came around her monster and was able to block the attack. "This duel is far from over. It's barely begun."

"So you want more?" Kyoka said. "That's perfectly fine with me. The longer this duel goes on, the more your pain will lasts."

"Erza, you get the feeling this chick has a few screw loose?" Lucy said.

"She certainly seems to look like that." Erza said. "She's willing to harm herself to beat me. She certainly has a lot of tenacity. Even so, I won't let that stop me from winning this duel."

"You foolish girl. You would give up now if you knew what I was capable of." Kyoka said. "Since the battle phase has ended, Enhance Punisher's ability is now over." Her monster's attack points dropped all the way to normal. "Well, not exactly."

"What do you mean?" Erza said.

"At the end of each turn, Enhance Punisher will grow stronger and stronger, little by little." Kyoka said and she was right. Her monster's power increased all the way to 2100.

"All she gained was a mere 100atk points. That doesn't really seem that threating or that much stronger." Lucy said.

"Don't be fooled, Lucy." Erza said. "Even a mere 100atk points can make all the difference. If that monster keeps growing stronger at the end of each turn, it will be harder and harder to defeat it."

"That's correct. Constant growth in strength is the very nature of my monster." Kyoka said. "I'm willing to sacrifice a little in order to gain a lot."

"It's just like she said earlier. No pain, no gain." Erza said.

"Yes. I plan to gain a lot from this duel." Kyoka said.

…

Makarov

Makarov stayed behind in the guild and watched out to the city. What was once a peaceful city has now become a nightmare and he despised all of it.

"Makarov Dreyar. It's been a long time." Makarov turned around and was faced with the one behind all of it.

"Zeref..." Makarov said.

"I haven't seen you in a long time, but I figured I would find you around here." Zeref said. "You look well for your age. In fact, I'm a little surprised you're still running this guild. Most people retired at your age."

"You're Natsu's brother. You are welcomed here, but after all that you've done recently, I can't welcome you with open arms." Makarov said. "You turned one of my own Fairy Tail children against us. How could you do all this to your own brother?"

"I have my reasons." Zeref said.

"Zeref, what happened to you?" Makarov said. "You were well gifted. You were so intelligent for someone so young. You had such a kind heart. What happened that you walked down this path? How did you fall into darkness?"

"It's more like that the darkness came to me." Zeref said. "Makarov, I do wish to thank you for raising me and Natsu. I also thank you for taking such great care of Natsu while I was away. However, I'm afraid that this is where you will fall." Is Zeref really challenging Makarov? Can he get out of this one or is this all the end for Makarov and more?


	34. Light Lies Inside

Makarov was finally faced with Zeref after years of Zeref being away. It also seems like Zeref is challenging Makarov.

"Zeref, I'm not going to fight you." Makarov said. "Zeref, stop this nonsense at once. What are you planning to gain from all this? Why are you trying to destroy this world?"

"Makarov, it's far too late to stop anything." Zeref said. "I've had this in the works for many years. What you labeled as a dark path for me was a fate that was meant to happen. You remember those poor souls that suffered just from being in my presence."

"Zeref, I know I may not be aware of how that was happening, but I do know that it wasn't your fault." Makarov said. "You never wanted to hurt anyone. So what happened to you? Why are you doing all of this?"

"In time, I will reveal my motives." Zeref said. "What you should know is that I didn't exactly chose this path. Rather, it chose me."

"What? Are you saying some sort of dark power chose you?" Makarov said. "I don't understand. What are you trying to tell me?"

"Makarov, all your philosophies might be sweet, but they are meaningless to me now." Zeref said. "Fate has brought me down this path and there was nothing I can do about it. So I decided to embrace it rather than resist it."

"You mean you gave into this dark power!" Makarov said. "You surrendered to darkness and I know I've taught you better than that! You left for Natsu's sake, but if you learned how to control this power, you could have returned to him! You could have had your normal life back! Do you have any idea how much it hurt Natsu when he lost the only blood relative he had?"

"I'm aware of that, but it couldn't be helped." Zeref said as he started to admit some power. "Perhaps you'll understand once I send you away. I've enjoyed meeting with you, Makarov. However, I'm afraid this might be our last meeting."

…

Erza

Erza and Lucy crossed paths with Kyoka, the last standing etherious. In doing so, Erza challenged her to a duel and Kyoka has it set so they both take damage, but Kyoka has it all under control. Kyoka has Painful Lesson, Effect Punisher, and Battle Punisher activated and she had her Enhance Punisher standing at 2100atk points. Kyoka also had 2000LP. Erza had her Black Wing Armor at 1700atk points and 3000LP.

'Erza might be in the lead at the moment, but if she doesn't do something to take Kyoka out, that won't matter.' Lucy thought. 'Kyoka will just get stronger with each passing moment.'

"Are you worried? You should be." Kyoka said. "I'm going to enjoy tearing you apart and my Enhance Punisher will take some pleasure in it as well."

"You haven't won yet. It's my turn!" Erza said and drew her card. "I'll switch my Black Wing Armor into defense mode." Her warrior took a knee and now has 400def points. "I'll also summon Adamantine Armor in defense mode as well to end my turn." She summoned out another female warrior holding a large shield and had 2400def points.

"That's it? With all your big talk, I thought you would have done more, but it seems like it's all for nothing." Kyoka said. "All that turn accomplished was give Ehance Punisher more power." She was right as her monster's attack points increased to 2200. With Erza's turn done, Kyoka drew her next card. "It's my turn now. I think I'll activate my Torture Restriction and I'm using it on your Adamantine Armor." A set of chains came down and ensnared around her monster and switched her to attack mode and she only has 300atk points.

"Oh no! Erza's monster is in attack mode!" Lucy said as she knew what Kyoka was doing.

"It doesn't stop there. Your monster can't be destroyed and the damage you take would be cut in half." Kyoka said. "However, my Battle Punisher will still double it. So you'll still be taking a lot of damage. I now activate my punisher's ability. I use one overlay unit to increase her attack points by 300 for every spell and trap that is on the field. I possess three. That makes 900." Kyoka's monster grew stronger and it now had 3100atk points.

"This might hurt." Erza said.

"I'm counting on it!" Kyoka said. "Attack her Adamantine Armor!" Her punisher had energy come out of her claws and she lashed against Erza's defenseless monster. It might have survived the attack, but it was still painful and Erza was feeling it as she took a lot of damage. Her life points dropped all the way to 200. Erza dropped to the ground and her body was twitching.

"Erza!" Lucy called as she ran to help her with Kyoka laughing at her. Lucy tried to help her stand. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine." Erza said, but her flinches from pain was telling a different story.

"I'm amazed you can even get up after a brutal beating like that." Kyoka said. "That's good. It shows me you deal more. I'm starting to like you. You're not like most humans. You can take what I throw at you. I can't wait to find your breaking point."

"Are you done talking? I thought we were dueling." Erza said.

"Very well. Make your move." Kyoka said. "Since it's the end of the turn, my monster gains another 100atk points." Enhance Punisher gained more power and now has 2300atk points.

"Here goes!" Erza said and it was just the card she needed. "I tribute my two warriors and summon out my ace monster: Clear Heart Samurai!" Erza said. She tribute both of her monsters and in their place was her armorless samurai with 3000atk points. "Clear Heart Samurai, attack her Enhance Punisher with **Crimson Blossom Slash**!" Her monster went on the attack and unleashed a powerful slash and destroyed Kyoka's monster. "Don't forget that your own trap doubles all the damage you took." Kyoka suffered from the effects of her own trap and her life points dropped all the way to 600.

"Yes! Way to go, Erza!" Lucy said.

"I place one card facedown and that ends my turn." Erza said.

"I admire that you keep going, but it will all be for nothing in the end." Kyoka said. "How much longer do you think you can go on?"

"As soon as you're defeated." Erza said.

"You think you can actually defeat me? Think again!" Kyoka said as she drew her next card. "You can't defeat me. Lord Zeref created us for a reason and that was to bring an era of darkness and despair! You lack purpose! You lack a reason you were created! Our maker made his clear!"

"What reason was that?" Erza said.

"It's so we can destroy everything and that's what we're going to do!" Kyoka said. "I activate Black Magic Revival! This spell card allows me to give away one of my spell or trap cards to revive a monster that was destroyed last turn. It also has all the attack points it had on the turn it was destroyed. I guess I don't need Effect Punisher as much anymore. So live again Enhance Punisher!" Her punisher came back on the field with it having 2300atk points.

"No. She brought it back?" Erza said.

"It's okay. Clear Heart Samurai still has more attack points and she can't increase Enhance Punisher's attack points anymore." Lucy said.

"Wrong again." Kyoka said. "I activate Lost Senses. This spell card weakens the attack points of one monster by 1000. I can only attack with one monster after using this spell, but it will be worth it once I weaken your monster." Energy whips went at Erza's samurai and lashed at her as her attack points dropped all the way to 2000. "This is the end! Attack!" Enhance Punisher went on the attack and it seemed like the end.

"I activate Stolen Provisions!" Erza said. "This trap card allows me to destroy your spell and trap cards and gain 1000LP for each one. So I can now destroy your two continuous cards." Both of Kyoka's cards were destroyed and Erza's life points went to 2200. Even though her monster was destroyed, Erza survived as her life points dropped to 1900.

"She survived." Lucy said as she was glad.

"All you're doing is prolonging your suffering." Kyoka said. "Now that we reached the end of this turn, Enhance Punisher gains more power." Her monster's attack points went to 2400 and the situation was getting bad. 'She might have survived, but Lost Senses has another effect. As soon as I banish it, I can double any damage with any monster I attack with. All I need is a clean shot and it's over for her.' Erza wasn't looking so good as she looked ready to fall over.

"Erza…" Lucy said as she was afraid of what was going to happen to her.

"You fought for nothing! Your body can't keep going!" Kyoka said. "It's over!" Kyoka thought she won, but Erza wasn't going down.

"You think I lack purpose?" Erza said. "You're wrong. I fight to help my friends. You fight for destruction. You were created in darkness! None of what you say matters for I hold the light inside me!"

"Light?" Kyoka said.

"I possess the light that lies inside me that will prevail me through anything you bring!" Erza said. "No matter what you say or do, you never stood a chance against me!"

"You think you can beat me?! Foolish human! You know nothing of what you're up against!" Kyoka said.

"That's where you are wrong. It's my turn!" Erza said and drew another card. "Without the light of fighting for another, for the people you care about and who care about you, you hold no true reason to fight! I activate Armor Exchange. Now I can summon a level four or lower monster. Rise to battle, Heaven's Wheel Armor!" Erza summoned an angel-like warrior and it came out with 1000atk points. Her special ability also allows me to summon out Flame Empress Armor." Erza summoned out red armored warrior and it had 1300atk points.

"Those monsters don't have the strength to defeat me." Kyoka said.

"That's about to change." Erza said. "I'm activating another spell. It's called Offered Loyalty! This spell exchanges half of my life points to tribute summon, even if that monster is in my graveyard." Erza's life points dropped to 950. "I offer both of my monsters to bring back Clear Heart Samurai!" Her monster rose back to the field and Kyoka was afraid.

"No! This can't be happening!" Kyoka said.

"It is! Attack and end this!" Erza ordered and her monster went on the attack. It gave Kyoka's monster a powerful slash and destroyed it. Kyoka was blown back from the attack and all of her life points dropped to nothing. The last of the etherious has fallen.

…..

Zeref

"I wish it didn't have to come to this." Makarov said. He pulled out a duel disk and was getting ready to face Zeref. Zeref was ready for him, but he suddenly sensed something and had a change of mind.

"My apologies, but I must take my leave." Zeref said and suddenly vanished. Makarov didn't understand why he left, but he knew it couldn't be good.

…

Kyoka

"I can't believe I was defeated…" Kyoka said as she was against the ground. "Please forgive me, Lord Zeref and Master E.N.D. I have failed you. However, I know you will still bring us victory." Those were Kyoka's last words and she turned to stardust. Erza triumphed and defeated the last of the etherious. It took a lot of Erza's power as she nearly fell over, but Lucy caught her.

"Are you okay?" Lucy said.

"Yeah. I'll be fine. Now we can focus on finding…" Erza didn't get to finish that sentence as a torrent of flames emerged in front of them. Both of them looked ahead and saw E.N.D. emerged out of the flames.

"Natsu…" Lucy said. This is the moment they've been waiting for. They save Natsu or lose him forever.


	35. The Stars and Demon Fire

The time Lucy has been waiting for has come. Erza succeeded in defeating Kyoka, the last of the etherious, but now their true target is in front of them. Natsu, now known as E.N.D., stands before them.

"So it seems all my etherious servants were defeated." E.N.D. said. "No matter. If they couldn't beat a human, they deserved what they got. They're weak. It looks like I'll have to handle this all on my own."

"Natsu…." Lucy said.

"Natsu, are you in there? It's us. It's Erza and Lucy." Erza said. "Natsu, whatever is happening to you, you need to snap out of it. Zeref is controlling you."

"Don't waste your breath." Both of them looked up and saw Zeref floating in the air thanks to his powers. "He's not the Natsu you know anymore. That Natsu is gone."

"Zeref!" Erza growled.

"How could you? Natsu is your own flesh and blood." Lucy said. "How could you do this to him?"

"I don't see much reason to explain myself at this point." Zeref said. "Once E.N.D. gets his hands on you, you will be done for just like all those who have already fallen." Erza and Lucy tried to be brave, but neither of them could believe that they really have to face Natsu of all people.

"Erza! Lucy!" Both of them turned around and saw Gray and Juvia were able to find them.

"Are you two okay?" Juvia asked.

"Yeah. Erza just took down the last of the etherious." Lucy said. "Now we can focus on what really needs to be done." All of them looked towards E.N.D.

"Which one of you will be the first to fall?" E.N.D. said. "If you're planning to reach the human I once was, don't bother. Jellal already tried and he failed. The result will be the same."

"Natsu, we all know you're still in there. There's got to be some way to snap him out of it." Gray said. Lucy looked to her deck and she knew what needed to be done.

…

Flashback

"Lucy." Ultear said. Before Lucy went out with her friends to face this enemy, Ultear wanted to speak with her. "Here, I want you to have these." She handed Lucy a few new cards.

"What are these?" Lucy asked.

"Cards that will make your celestial deck even more powerful." Ultear said. "Lucy, you are Natsu's closest and most precious friend. If there really is any chance to reach the real Natsu, you might have it. Perhaps those cards will help you."

"Wow!" Lucy said as she looked at them. "These cards look pretty powerful."

"Good luck, Lucy. I know that if anyone can bring Natsu back, it's you." Ultear said. Anyone from the guild would agree with Ultear and Lucy knew just what needed to be done.

End of Flashback

…

Lucy needed to be brave. She knows a duel is the only way to get to the real Natsu since it's his passion. A duel is the only way to get Natsu back and it's a chance she has to take.

"Guys, leave this to me." Lucy said.

"Lucy? Are you sure?" Juvia said.

"I don't think that's a great idea." Gray said. "Natsu is a stronger duelist than you are. He also has a brand new set of cards. Even Jellal didn't stand a chance against them. You shouldn't risk it."

"Agree." Erza said.

"I have to do this. I might be the only one that can!" Lucy said and charged right in despite her friends' protest. Lucy ran around so she can face E.N.D. without her friends getting caught in the crossfire. 'I know somewhere inside there is my friend, the man I care for more than anything. I'm here today because I met Natsu. He was there for me. Now it's my turn to be there for him.' She thought.

"So you'll be the first to fall?" E.N.D. said.

"No. I'm going to be the one to save you." Lucy said.

"This should be interesting." Zeref said. It was now or never to save Natsu. Both of them activated their duel disks and this impending battle is about to begin.

"Let's duel!" Both said and it has now begun.

"I'll make the first move." E.N.D. said as he drew a card. "I activated END Runes. The same field spell that doomed Jellal." His evil magic circle appeared around them and now there was no turning back.

"This is what he used against Jellal." Erza said.

"Lucy, be careful." Juvia said as all of them were worried about her.

"Now I summon Fire Demon Winger in attack mode." E.N.D. said and brought out a demonic version of the original Winger with 1000atk points. "That ends my turn."

"My turn!" Lucy said and drew her first card. "I summon Celestial Spirit Taurus!" Lucy summoned out a humanoid-cow carrying a giant axe and had 1700atk points. "Here we go. I hope this gets through. Taurus, attack now with **Rampage Axe**!" Taurus slammed his axe against the ground and created a powerful shockwave. Winger was destroyed and Lucy hoped for the best. "Natsu! Did that get through to you?"

"Not even close." E.N.D. said as he was unfazed and didn't take any damage.

"Why didn't he lose any life points?" Juvia said.

"It's because of END Runes." Erza said.

"Correct." E.N.D. said. "All I had to do is send Fire Demon Sword Horn to the graveyard and I take no damage."

"But if Lucy can't deal damage, how is she suppose to win?" Juvia said.

"Not every card in his deck is a Fire Demon. Lucy just needs to get lucky." Gray said. "I'm more concerned as to how we're going to get to the real Natsu."

"Try as much as you like. It will only end in failure." Zeref said. "Natsu's has changed. It's almost like the real him isn't there anymore."

'No.' Lucy thought. 'I refuse to believe that. Natsu has to be in there, but how? How do I save Natsu?' Lucy was wondering what to do, but suddenly she heard some sort of roar in her head. She didn't know what that was, but she could hear it coming from Natsu's deck. She actually knew that roar. 'Igneel! Could you be the key?'

"Are you going to duel or not?" E.N.D. said and Lucy got back in it.

"I'm just going to place one card facedown and end my turn." Lucy said. 'If Igneel is the key to getting the real Natsu back, I need him to get on the field.'

"My turn!" E.N.D. said. "I summon Fire Demon Iron Fist in attack mode." Iron First came out and ready for battle with him having 1600atk points. "Next, I activate END Twin Flame. This spell card allows me to summon monsters from my hand or graveyard on the field when I have a Fire Demon on the field. However, their attack points can't excel my monster. So I'll bring back Winger." His last monster came back on the field. "I'm also going to summon Happy Flying Cat." He summoned out a meaner version of his cat and it had 300atk points. "I now activate Evil Ruling Aura and equip it on Iron Fist. This gives him 500atk points for every monster I have on the field." His fighter gained some power and it now had 2600atk points.

"Oh no! Now that monster is stronger than Lucy's only monster!" Juvia said.

"Hang in there, Lucy. This might hurt." Gray said.

"I'm counting on it. Iron Fist, destroy that cow!" E.N.D. said. His fighter smashed its fist against Taurus and destroyed it with Lucy's life points dropping to 3100. "There's more. Winger, strike her down!" Winger flew right at Lucy and attacked her with her life points dropping to 2100. "I wouldn't want my little cat to feel left out. Attack!" Happy flew at Lucy and tackled her and her life points dropped to 1800." Lucy could barely take all that as she dropped to her knees.

"Lucy!" Her friends called out.

"Finished already?" E.N.D. questioned

"Not even." Lucy said as she tried to stay strong as she remembered what she was fighting for.

"You'll regret getting back up." E.N.D. said. "Make your move for it might be your final turn." Lucy did her best to stay tough, but it wasn't going to be easy. She just remembered what she needs to do.

'Natsu, I know there's a way to save you. I won't stop until you are saved.' Lucy thought. "It's my turn!" Lucy drew her next card and it was just what she needed. "I activate Silver Celestial Key. It allows me to special summon a level four or lower Celestial Spirit. So I'm summoning out Celestial Spirit Virgo." Lucy summoned out a maid that had pink hair and chains around her wrists and had 900atk points.

"A maid? What are you going to have her do? Clean my castle?" E.N.D. said.

"I'm not done yet." Lucy said. "I activate my trap, Dark Star Submission. This trap allows me to use your monsters as tribute for a Celestial Spirit. So I'm giving up your Winger and Happy." E.N.D. was surprised as he saw both of his monsters vanished. "Now I'm summoning Celestial Spirit Leo!" She summoned out a dashing looking man in suit and had 2400atk points.

"Neither of your monsters are powerful enough to stop me." E.N.D. said.

"They don't have to be. Virgo, attack Iron Fist!" Lucy said. Virgo drilled her way underground and tackled Iron Fist from the ground, but neither of them took any damage and both monsters returned to their owners' hands.

"What just happened?" E.N.D. said.

"That's Virgo's ability. When she attacks, neither of us takes damage and both monsters return to our hands." Lucy said. "That means Leo can attack you directly. Attack with **Regulus Impact**!" Leo unleashed a lion made out of light and blasted E.N.D. with his life points dropping to 1600.

"Yes! She did major damage!" Erza said.

"Very clever. She's aware END Runes can't block a direct attack." Zeref said. "This girl might be smarter than I thought."

"I place one card facedown and that ends my turn." Lucy said.

"My turn!" E.N.D. said and drew his next card. "You actually seem to have some fight in you. That's good. I like having my victims try and resist before I send them to their doom. I summon Iron Fist back to the field." Iron Fist came back and was ready for some payback. "I now activate Demonic Payment. Since I have a fire monster on the field, we both have to discard our entire hand and draw four new cards." Both of them discarded their hand so Lucy got rid of Virgo and Capricorn. They drew four new cards and E.N.D. saw what he needed. "Now I activate Fire Demon Partnership. When I have one fire Demon on the field, this allows me to summon another one. I summon Fire Demon Talon!" Natsu brought out Talon and it had 1500atk points.

"No. Now he has two monsters." Juvia said.

"It's okay. Lucy's monster is still stronger." Gray said.

"Perhaps not for long." Erza said as she didn't like where this was going.

"I activate Straight To It! This allows me to use a trap from anywhere as long as I remove it from play." E.N.D. said. "From my deck, I'm activating Five Star Dragon Egg. Now I can summon a level five or higher dragon without a sacrifice"

"I think I know who is coming out." Lucy said as she braced herself.

"Do you?" E.N.D. as he held up the card and turned it to see it was Igneel. "I summon Igneel the Fire Demon Dragon!" Igneel rose out on the field and it unleashed a frightening roar with it holding 2500atk points.

'There it is, but what does Igneel have to do with Natsu's situation?' Lucy thought.

"I could use Igneel's ability, but I think I should be a little cautious. You're not as dumb as most humans. Igneel, destroy her spirit!" E.N.D. shouted. Igneel opened its mouth and unleashed a powerful blast of fire that destroyed Leo and blew Lucy back with her life points dropping to 1700.

"Oh no!" Erza said.

"She's okay. She still has life points." Juvia said.

"Forget life points! Look what's on the field!" Gray said. "She's got nothing and he's got two monsters that can finish her." Lucy couldn't let it end here. She has to save Natsu somehow.

"_Lucy…. Everyone…."_

"Natsu?" Lucy said as she thought she heard the real Natsu and it came from Igneel. "Natsu? Are you in there?" Lucy was right. Natsu was somehow inside Igneel, but he was trapped in darkness and restricted by chains. Zeref heard her as well and got cautious.

"Brother, you must end this." Zeref said.

"I intend to do that." E.N.D. said with his two remaining monsters and Lucy has nothing left. If she doesn't do something, she's lost and so is Natsu, possibly forever. "You're finished!"

To Be Continued….


	36. Free the Real Natsu

It's looking bad for Lucy. Lucy decided to challenge E.N.D. so she can rescue Natsu, but it was looking bad. Lucy had 1700LP and only one face-down. E.N.D. had Igneel at 2500atk points and Fire Demon Iron Fist and Talon at 1500 and 1600atk points and his END Runes with him having 1600LP. The worst part is that it's still E.N.D.'s turn.

"This is where it ends." E.N.D. said. "I'll just have both of my monsters attack and end this!" Both Iron Fist and Talon went on the attack and everyone thought this was the end for Lucy.

"I play my trap! Protection From The Stars!" Lucy said. "When a Celestial Spirit is destroyed in battle, this trap prevents monster with fewer attack points from dealing any damage. Leo had 2400atk points. That means both of your monsters' attacks are powerless." A barrier came around her and blocked both attacks.

"Oh man. I thought she was done for. I almost had a heart attack." Gray said.

"Yes, but Natsu has the advantage." Erza said. Speaking of Natsu, Lucy discovered the truth of Natsu's condition.

"Natsu! Natsu, are you in there?!" Lucy called.

"I keep telling you that Natsu is gone." E.N.D. said.

"I don't mean you." Lucy said and that confused some of them. "I mean him!" Lucy pointed to Igneel and Zeref seemed surprised while everyone was confused.

"Lucy, what are you talking about?" Juvia said.

"I heard it. I heard the real Natsu." Lucy said. "I don't know if it's something spiritual or whatever it is, but I can hear it. The real Natsu is inside Igneel. Tell the truth, Zeref!" She said as she turned to him. "What have you done to him?" All eyes were on him as they wanted answers.

"So you discovered the truth." Zeref said. "Such a smart girl. Yes, I placed Natsu's human soul inside of Igneel. His human soul is trapped there in despair as he believes all of you are gone and it's all his fault. I knew his human heart and conscious would cause me problems. So I removed all of it and gave his empty shell of a body a new soul. That would be E.N.D."

"So that's why Jellal couldn't get through to him!" Erza said. "The real Natsu is inside Igneel and the one standing before us is really just his body being used like a puppet."

"How could you do that to your own brother?!" Lucy said.

"It wasn't easy, but it was necessary for Natsu to rule by my side." Zeref said. "Now that you know the truth, I can't allow you to walk out of this. Brother, finish this duel."

"I will, but all I can do now is end my turn." E.N.D. said.

"If the real Natsu is trapped inside Igneel, perhaps getting rid of Igneel will free him." Gray said.

"But can Lucy really take a chance like that?" Juvia said. "What if destroying Igneel means we lose the real Natsu for good?"

"We'll just have to hope Lucy knows what she's doing." Erza said and they all turned to her.

"Now that I know that Natsu is trapped in there, I need to get him out. I draw!" Lucy said as she drew her next card. "I activate Painful Celestial Departure. I have to send two Celestial Spirits to the graveyard, but that means I can draw two more cards. So I'll have to say farewell to Gemini and Aries." Lucy discarded those two cards and drew two new ones.

"That's strange. Not usually Lucy's style to just discard her monsters like that." Gray said.

"She's trying to save a friend. I don't think she can afford to play it safe or anything such." Erza said.

"I summon Celestial Spirit Libra in defense mode." Lucy said. She summoned out a woman that carried scales on her fingers and had 1200def points. "I now activate Libra's ability to switch Igneel in defense mode and it's trapped like that as long as Libra stays on the field." Libra altered gravity and Igneel was forced into defense mode with him having 2000def points. "Sorry, Natsu. Just hang in there until I can save you."

"You think that will hold me back?" E.N.D. said.

"I know I'll lose Libra next turn, but that bought me another turn." Lucy said. "I place another card facedown and that ends my turn."

"My turn!" E.N.D. said as he drew his next card, but decided to jump straight to it. "Iron Fist, attack Libra and destroy her with **Burning Destroyer**!" Iron Fist jumped and struck Libra with it being destroyed. "Come my next turn, I'll switch Igneel to attack mode to finish you."

"Yeah right. You're not all that." Lucy said. "I'm fighting to save my friend and you don't even have the right to use those cards. You're a poser and Natsu is the only one who should be using those cards."

"What?!" E.N.D. said as he actually felt offended. "You think I'm some sort of fake? You think I'm beneath some sort of human? I'm telling you that my weaker half is gone! Then again, why should I care what you think as you're about to be no more. Talon, attack her directly with **Blazing Stomp**!" Talon went for the attack and her friends were concerned.

"If this attack works, Lucy will only have 200LP left!" Erza said.

"I activate my Fortunate Star Symbol trap! By sending another Celestial Spirit to the graveyard, I don't take any damage from each of your attacks." Lucy said. "So I'll send Cancer to the graveyard and block your attack." A wall of light formed and it stopped E.N.D.'s attack.

"She managed to hang in there." Juvia said.

"Yeah, but she narrowly escaped damage." Gray said.

"I'm a little curious as to why she keeps discarding her monsters." Zeref said. "What's she planning that she would have to keep discarding her monsters to pull it off?"

"I end my turn. You may have been lucky now, but you won't next time." E.N.D. said.

"We'll see about that. It's my turn." Lucy said and drew her next card. 'Of course, before I do anything, I need to figure out how to get rid of this field spell. Even if I attack, he can just send a monster to his graveyard to avoid taking any damage.' Lucy thought as she tried to think of a plan. "This can work. I activate my Starlight Way spell card. It allows me to summon any light attribute monster that's in my hand. I'm summoning out Celestial Spirit Sagittarius." Lucy summoned out an archer wearing a horse's head with it having 1400atk points. "Now I summon Celestial Spirit Scorpio in attack mode." Lucy summoned out a man with a mechanical scorpion tail with him having 1600atk points. "Now I use Scorpio's ability. Since you have more monsters on the field than I do, I can destroy a spell or trap card that equals the difference."

"He can?!" E.N.D. said.

"That's right. That means your END Runes is finished." Lucy said. Scorpio fired sand from its tail and was able to destroy the field spell.

"No! You'll pay for that!" E.N.D. said.

"Without that, you'll be able to take damage now." Lucy said. "Next, I activate Bright Insight. This card gives one monster an extra 100atk points for every monster that's on the field. I'm giving it to Sagittarius and that means he gets 500 extra attack points." Sagittarius' power rose to 1900. "Now Sagittarius, take out Fire Demon Talon with **Star Arrow**!" Sagittarius pulled back some arrows and released them with Talon getting destroyed and E.N.D.'s life points dropping to 1200. "Scorpio, it's your turn! **Sand Buster**!" Scorpio unleashed a twister of sand and blasted Iron Fist. Iron Fist was destroyed and E.N.D.'s life points dropped to 1100. "That should end my turn." With her turn over, Sagittarius' attack points returned to normal.

"Now I'm angry!" E.N.D. shouted. He drew his next card and was set to end this. "I'm switching Igneel to attack mode!" Igneel got back in attack mode and was ready. "Next, I activate END Melt. I take a Fire Demon in my graveyard and remove it from play. Doing that will allow me to draw a card for each of its two levels. I take my Fire Demon Winger and it's a level four. That means I can draw two cards."

"If any of those are monsters, he can summon one and use Igneel's ability to end this." Gray said. E.N.D. drew two cards and everyone was hoping for the best.

"I activate END Heat. Since I have a fire attribute monster, I can destroy one of your monsters." E.N.D. said. "You also have to discard a card from your deck for every two levels. So I'm getting rid of Scorpio." Scorpio was surrounded by fire and was destroyed. "Since he was level four, you have to get rid of two cards."

'Fine with me. It just means I get closer to what I'm aiming for.' Lucy said as she discarded Aquarius and Pisces.

"Now Igneel, destroy Sagittarius!" E.N.D. ordered. "**Demon Dragon Roar**!" Igneel unleashed the intense blast of fire and destroyed Sagittarius with Lucy being knocked off her feet and her life points dropping to 600. "It's almost over. I activate my Fire Demon Revival Flame! This spell can only be activated when the battle phase ends. It brings back the last two Fire Demons you destroyed last turn." Talon and Iron First returned to the field and Lucy was back where she started. "I place one card facedown to end my turn."

"Oh man. Lucy's lucky he didn't have a monster, but one more attack and she's done for. So is Natsu." Gray said.

"I'm not beaten yet. I'm not giving up." Lucy said as she tried to get up. "It all comes down to one last draw." Lucy drew her next card and her friends were anxious about this. "Yes. Just the card I needed. I'm activating Urano Metria."

"What's that?!" Juvia said.

"A very powerful spell that can only be activated when I have twelve Celestial Spirits in the graveyard." Lucy said.

"Twelve?! So that's why she's been discarding her cards!" Gray said.

"It allows me to summon the most powerful spirit of all. I summon the Celestial Spirit King!" Lucy said as a pillar of light shot from the sky and a giant emerged from it. A giant warrior with a great white mustache and he had 4500atk points. "The Celestial Spirit King's ability destroys every monster that has less than 2000atk points when he's summoned."

"No way?!" E.N.D. said the king shined a bright light as a powerful gust of wind blew through and destroyed both of his fighters.

"Natsu! Can you hear me?!" Lucy called as she made one final attempt to reach him.

…

Natsu

Natsu was trapped within his dragon. His arms were restricted by chains and he was surrounded by darkness. He believes his friends are gone and it's all his fault. Suddenly, a light shined down upon him and it got him to react.

"Natsu!"

"What?" Natsu looked up and could see through his dragon. He saw the duel and he saw his friends. "Lucy?! Erza?! Gray?! Juvia?! They're all alive!" Natsu said as the darkness was starting to break form him.

…..

The Duel

The light was starting to destroy the darkness surrounding Igneel and he was starting to be restored to his old self.

"It's working! The darkness is being destroyed!" Lucy said.

"No! I'm here to stay!" E.N.D. said.

"Wrong. Time for the real Natsu to come back! The King can destroy all your cards after he attacks." Lucy said. "Strike down and destroy the evil that surrounds Natsu! Attack with **Galaxia Blade**!" The king drew his sword and swung it down as it emitted a powerful and starry blast that destroyed the evil surrounding Igneel and E.N.D. His life points dropped to zero and the darkness that surrounded Natsu was destroyed as his body returned to normal.

"Natsu!" Erza said.

"Did she do it?" Gray said as they all turned to Natsu's body and saw it get up.

"What just happened?"

"Natsu?" Lucy said as they could all see it really was him. Lucy's never been so happy. "Natsu! You're back!"

"Not so fast." Zeref said. "E.N.D. activated a trap just before the king's ability kicked in." All of them looked and saw that it did. "END Inferno. This trap deals damage to both duelists equal to the attack points of your king." All of them saw the card was gathering energy to explode.

"Natsu!" Lucy called as she hurried and pushed Natsu out of the way before the card could explode. The card detonated and they were both blown back, but they were both able to survive. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Thanks to you." Natsu said.

"It's not over yet." Zeref said as everyone turned to him and Natsu glared at him. "Now, my dear little brother, it's time for our duel." One last duel to end this threat and it will be a duel between brothers.

To Be Continued…


	37. Duel of the Brothers Pt1

The time has finally come for Natsu to face his brother. Lucy was successful in saving Natsu and freeing him from Zeref's control, but the threat isn't over as long as Zeref is still causing trouble.

"The time has come, Natsu." Zeref said. "I'm amazed your friend was able to free you, but that doesn't mean it's over yet."

"Zeref…" Natsu said.

"Natsu, are you okay?" Lucy said.

"Yeah." Natsu said as he looked around and saw all of them. "You're all really alive?"

"Your brother tricked you into thinking we were gone for good." Gray said. Natsu glared at his brother. Zeref has caused so much harm and it all has to be put to a stop.

"Hey!" All of them looked down the street and saw Gajeel and the other dragons have arrived and regrouped with them.

"Natsu, is that really you?" Wendy said.

"Yeah. Thanks to Lucy, I'm myself again." Natsu said.

"Great." Laxus said. "Gramps and everyone else managed to get everyone still left in the city somewhere safe. We've also taken care of the etherious."

"All that's really left is him." Rogue said as they all looked to Zeref.

"What do you mean by still left? What's really going on?" Natsu said.

"You mean you don't remember?" Sting said, but Natsu was drawing a blank. Some of them weren't sure how to say this.

"Natsu….Zeref used you." Erik said. "He turned you into one of his etherious and you and the rest of them hunted people down in an effort to destroy everything. You led the charge. Some of our friends like Jellal and such are really gone."

"What?!" Natsu said as he couldn't believe it. He led a dark army sent to destroy the world and some of his friends are gone.

"That's right, Natsu." Zeref said. "I had it all set so that we can rule the world together. Now that you're not E.N.D. anymore, I think I know what you plan on doing. If you still wish to save the world and perhaps save everyone that was lost, you'll have to face me." Natsu glared at his brother. He was intended to help him, but now he wants to be the one to stop him.

"You're on!" Natsu said.

"So follow me. It will just be you and me, brother." Zeref said as a light shined around him and he floated into the air. Natsu looked ready to finish this.

"Wait." Lucy said as she grabbed his arm and stopped him from going. "You can't. It has to be another trick. Besides, you just came back to your normal self. You might not be ready."

"Lucy's right. We'll go with you." Erza said.

"Yeah. We'll take him on together." Gray said.

"Right. Working together has always been our greatest strength. We can use that to finish him." Juvia said.

"I agree." Wendy said.

"Same here. Let's finish this." Sting said. All of them were in full agreement.

"No." Natsu said and none of them were expecting that. "I'm not going to make the same mistake. I'm not going to drag you guys in danger again. What happened last time was because I was careless."

"But you can't go alone." Gray said.

"I have to. He's my brother." Natsu said. "He wants it to be just us. That's what he's going to get. Please guys, trust me. I have to be the one to do this." All of them could see Natsu is set on this and he wants to make amends for what he's done.

"Okay." Lucy said and hugged him from behind. "Just make sure you win this."

"I will." Natsu said.

"Hang on." Gajeel said. "If you're going, take this with you." Gajeel held up Metalicana and Natsu couldn't believe it.

"You're going to give me your dragon?" Natsu said.

"His dark power is stronger than anything we've faced before." Gajeel said. "You're going to need all the help you can get."

"Gajeel's got a point." Laxus said and took out his dragon. "You might not be at full strength. So our power will be yours."

"They're right. We all believe in you Natsu and our power will be your power. So take Grandeene." Wendy said.

"Take Skiadrum as well." Rogue said.

"Weisslogia is going too." Sting said.

"It is the seven dragons." Erik said. All of them gave Natsu their dragon cards and they were all putting their faith in him.

"Thanks." Natsu said as he shuffled the dragon cards into his deck. With his friends by his side, Natsu doesn't see how he can lose. Natsu stepped into the light and floated into the air.

"Go get him, Natsu!" Gray called out.

"We all believe in you! We know you can win!" Erza called. Everyone is believing in him, but Lucy was just hoping Natsu comes back.

…

Natsu

Natsu floated into the dark clouds above Magnolia. Zeref may have outsmarted him before, but Natsu won't let him get the better of him again.

"At last it's just the two of us, Natsu." Zeref said. Natsu looked around, but he couldn't see him. "I was hoping we could rule over together, but I know that won't happen. I hoped it wouldn't come to this, but it seems that it must."

"What happened to you, brother?" Natsu said. "You were never like this before. What could have happened to you that you go against the things you taught me?"

"Time changes a person." Zeref said. "I'm sure Jellal has told you the story of Quataru Rainbow Dragon as well his dragon allies going against the powers of darkness. As well as that great battling happening here on the grounds that Magnolia was built."

"Yeah. Rings a few bells." Natsu said.

"That's what brings us to now." Zeref said. An image was being shown in the clouds and it was a memory of Zeref as a kid. Zeref was just walking by until he noticed a card on the ground, but he didn't see the dark aura around it.

"A card?" Natsu said.

"Yes. That card was forged in the darkness that the Underworld Lords came from." Zeref said as his younger self grabbed the card and the dark power began to overtake him. "Finding that card is what changed everything. All those poor people that suffered from you, it was all my doing. The darkness I found saw my desire to help you and that's what caused others to be hurt."

"But you didn't do it on purpose, did you?" Natsu said.

"No." Zeref said. "I had no control over it, but I left because I thought I was a danger to you when I realized the truth. I left to protect you because life was going well for us. You were happy. I didn't want to take that away from you."

"So that's why you left." Natsu said. "That card came from that ancient darkness. What about Hades and those who had those Underworld Lords? Were you a part of that too?"

"No, but the card I have found that day is far more powerful than they were." Zeref said. "You're about to see that." The clouds cleared away and Natsu saw Zeref again as they faced each other.

"I wanted to help you, but after what you did, what you made me do, I just want to stop you now." Natsu said.

"Perhaps you will. If you defeat me, everything will go back to normal and those friends you lost will be revived." Zeref said. "However, you've never been able to beat me before. I was the one that taught you how to duel. You can't win."

"We'll see about that!" Natsu said. One final battle, a duel that has two brothers against each other. Natsu activated his duel disk and Zeref called a black one on his arm. This is where it all comes to an end.

"Let's duel!" The brothers said and the final showdown begins.

"Allow me to go first." Zeref said as he drew a card. "I summon Black Arts Reflector." Zeref summoned a limbless skeletal creature with wings and it held a mirror, but it had no attack points.

"No attack points? What's with that thing?" Natsu said.

"You'll see." Zeref said. "Next, I activate Black Arts Scroll." A dark scroll came on the field and unfolded with two symbols in it.

"What does that thing do?" Natsu said.

"In time, Natsu. Then again, you never were patient." Zeref said. "That ends my turn. Let's see if you still have what it takes."

"You got it!" Natsu said and drew his first card and saw his cards were back to normal. "I summon Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" Natsu brought out the real Iron Fist with it having 1600atk points. "Next, I'm activating Passion Draw. Since there's a monster on your field, I can draw one more card." Natsu drew two more cards, but Zeref smirked as he saw one of the marks on his scroll glowing. "Perfect, I'm activating my Emergency Flare. This allows me to summon a level four or lower monster straight from my deck. I'm bringing out Fire Dragon Talon to the field." Natsu brought out his other fighter with him having 1500atk points and the scroll glowed again with the other mark.

"Two monsters? Do you really think that will be enough?" Zeref said.

"We're about to see!" Natsu said. "Iron Fist, attack Black Arts Reflector!" Natsu's monster went on the attack and smashed its attack against, but something strange was happening. Energy was traveling into the mirror. "What's going on?" Reflector shot a beam from the mirror and blasted Natsu with his life points dropping to 2400 before it was destroyed. "What happened? Why did I lose life points?"

"You never did think before you act." Zeref said. "Black Arts Reflector reflects any damage I would have taken and gets transfer to you."

"No fair." Natsu said.

"That's what happens when you don't think." Zeref said. "Although, I've always been smarter. It's still your turn if you want to try something." Natsu wanted to strike, but he can't afford to lose.

"I'll just place two cards facedown and end my turn." Natsu said.

"My turn." Zeref said as he drew his next card. "I think now is a good time that I tell you what my scroll can do." Natus watched as a dark wave was released from the scroll and both of his monsters got caught in it. They lost some color and their attack points dropped to nothing.

"What just happened to them?!" Natsu said.

"Every time you activate a spell card, a black arts counter appears on my scroll. It can only hold two, but that's all it needs." Zeref said. "By releasing those two, I can drain all of your monsters of their power. Something else you're helping me with."

"Quit making it sound like we're on the same side." Natsu said.

"Very well. I'll just summon Black Arts Phantom." Zeref said. He summoned a swirling shadow, but it didn't have any attack points either.

"Another monster with no attack points?" Natsu said.

"Looks can be deceiving." Zeref said. "I activate my phantom's ability. I can send any of my monster's to the graveyard and half of its attack points are added to his." Zeref looked over all his monsters and he found just the one to send away. "This one will do." He discarded the card and his phantom grew massive with its attack points at….4000.

"4000?! So you sent a monster that has 8000atk points to the graveyard?!" Natsu said.

"That's right." Zeref said. "I'm sure one of those two face-downs will stop my attack. So let's find out. Black Arts Phantom, destroy Iron Fist." His phantom unleashed a powerful blast and it didn't look good. An explosion went off and Zeref was waiting to see the results. The smoke cleared and Natsu was fine. "So you activated Nova Forcer."

"That's right. I had to discard Talon and I don't take any damage, even though Iron Fist was still destroyed." Natsu said. "Since the monster I discarded was a pyro, I can take any card from my deck and add it to my hand. The card I'm taking is Protective Instinct."

"Another spell? You know what will happen if you play that." Zeref said. "Very well. I'll just place two cards facedown as well and end my turn."

"My turn!" Natsu said as he drew his next card.

"Now that it is your turn, I can activate my two trap cards." Zeref said. "The first I'm activating is Zero Revival. It brings back a monster that has zero attack points in my graveyard. Black Arts Reflector, return to the field." His reflector came back on the field. "Now I'm able to play my other trap. It's called Worthless Worth. Now I can sacrifice two monsters with zero attack points and bring out a monster that is all powerful."

"The monster you discarded!" Natsu said.

"That's right." Zeref said as two dark pillars shot around his monsters. "The darkness decided that the best way to fight a dragon with another dragon. Allow me to show you the most evil and darkest dragon to ever exist. I summon Acnologia, Apocalyptic Dragon!" A great dark power was released and a new dragon showed itself. This dragon was black with blue markings around its body and it had 8000atk points.

"Another dragon!" Natsu said and felt his mark glowing hotter and brighter than it's ever felt before. "Even my mark is going crazy over it." Acnologia unleashed a might roar that everyone heard and it was not sounding good for those below. Zeref laughed and starting acting more sinister.

"Now you will experience true fear and despair! My foolish little brother!" Zeref said.

"Not happening!" Natsu said as he wasn't going to quit. "For the sake of everyone, I will stop you!"

To Be Continued….


	38. Duel of the Brothers Pt2

Lucy and the others waited patiently for Natsu to come back. However, they heard a fearful roar and they were starting to get nervous.

"I sure hope Natsu is okay up there." Gray said. Lucy wanted Natsu to be safe, but she can't wait around anymore for him to come back. She needs to see all this for herself. Lucy ran towards the light and started to float in the air.

"Lucy! What are you doing?!" Erza said.

"I can't sit back and wait anymore." Lucy said. "If Natsu is going to face this danger, I'm going to face it with him."

"She can't go alone." Gray said as he looked at Erza. The two nodded their heads and followed her into the air.

"Gray, my love, don't!" Juvia said.

"We can't let them do this." Gajeel said and all of them wanted to go in as well.

"Wait." All of them looked and they saw Makarov has showed himself. "Let them go. Natsu is up there isn't he? He's back to his old self."

"Yeah." Laxus said.

"We even gave him our dragon cards to help him." Wendy said.

"That's good. That's all you can really do." Makarov said. "If Zeref is the one Natsu is facing, he must face this threat on his own. Only Natsu might be able to stop him. While it is noble of Lucy and all of them to stand by Natsu's side, Natsu would much rather have all of you safe. There's nothing more we can really do, but be there in spirit." All of them could see what Makarov was trying to say and stayed where they were. All hope is with Natsu.

…

The Duel

Natsu was dueling his older brother, but it wasn't going that well. Natsu had nothing, but one face-down on the field and had 2400LP. Zeref had his Black Arts Scroll, but also a dangerous dragon known as Acnologia with 8000atk points. Luckily, it was Natsu's turn.

"That's one nasty looking dragon." Natsu said.

"That's one way of putting it." Zeref said. "It is the most dangerous and powerful dragon. The darkness believed in fighting the dragons with their own and created him. I was just the poor unfortunate soul that found him."

"So that's the card he found all those years ago. The one that really started all this." Natsu said. "Maybe destroying it will solve all this. Too bad I can't do anything about that now, but I can set up a defense. I summon Scale Guard in attack mode." Natsu summoned out a reptilian monster with thick red scales and had 100atk points. "I'm also activating Protective Instinct on Scale Guard." Scale Guard switched to defense mode and has 1900def points

"I see." Zeref said. "First, don't forget that every time you activate a spell, my scroll gains a counter." One counter was placed on his scroll. "Second, Scale Guard can't be destroyed unless its attack twice, but that's quite the powerful combo. Now, as long as Scale Guard is in defense mode, it can't be destroyed and you can't really take some damage."

"That's right. That will buy me some time until I can figure something out to bring that dragon down." Natsu said. "So I'm ending my turn for now."

"You think you can defeat Acnologia?" Zeref said. "Don't be so sure. Acnologia can't be destroyed in battle or by card effects. He's also got other surprises for you in store."

"So bring it on." Natsu said.

"Very well." Zeref said as he drew his next card. "You think your Scale Guard can protect you, but you are mistaken. I activate Failed Defenses. This spell card makes it so your Scale Guard can be destroyed."

"Oh man." Natsu said.

"You still might not take damage, but Acnologia can destroy everything that is in his path." Zeref said. "Acnologia, attack with **Cosmic Flare Shower**!" Acnologia commanded the stars to fall in a barrage and blasted around Natsu's field with Scale Guard being destroyed.

"Good thing I had him in defense mode." Natsu said.

"You're not safe yet, Natsu." Zeref said. "When you have no monsters on the field during the battle phase, I can now summon Black Arts Striker!" He summoned out the black skeleton of a bird and it flew out with 1000atk points. "You have nothing to protect you. That means he can attack you directly!" His skeletal bird went on the attack.

"No so fast." Natsu said. "I activate my Rescue Fire trap! This trap allows me to summon a level four or lower fire attribute monster from my deck. I'm bringing out Dragon Wingman!" Natsu summoned out his humanoid dragon and it had 1900atk points. His dragon deflected the attack and destroyed Zeref's monster. When it was destroyed, Zeref's life points dropped to 3100.

"Clever. You saved that for a weaker monster to attack and deal me damage." Zeref said. "You could have saved Scale Guard, but you wouldn't have dealt damage."

"Yeah. I also wouldn't have been able to activate this if I haven't." Natsu said. "I activate Burst Fist! Now the damage you just took is doubled." Flaming fists were shot at Zeref and hit him around as his life points dropped to 1300.

"Impressive, but you are aware that places another counter on my scroll." Zeref said as that just happened.

"I'll take my chances." Natsu said. "You already lost more than half of your life points from that combo."

"Perhaps. Let's see what else you can do. I end my turn." Zeref said.

"Natsu!" Natsu looked to the side and saw Lucy, Gray, and Erza arrived.

"What are you doing here?" Natsu said.

"Providing moral support." Gray said.

"We wanted to be by your side in this." Lucy said. Natsu felt glad to have such good friends.

"What is that thing?!" Erza said. All of them saw Acnologia and it looked like the definition of doom.

"How nice of them to join us. They can watch it as it comes to an end." Zeref said. "You don't have to worry about them, they will fall just like your friends did when we're done here."

"I wouldn't be so sure." Natsu said. "Zeref, I know that card might have corrupted you, but I do believe that somewhere inside you is the brother I know." Zeref didn't seem to understand. "If I was wrong, you could have really gotten rid of my friends. Instead, you sent them back here." Zeref thought about that and saw Natsu was right. Why didn't he just get rid of his friends instead of returning them here? He wouldn't be in this mess if he did that. "Zeref, somewhere inside you is the old you. Just like how Lucy fought to free me, I'm going to free you. That means I'm bringing that dragon of yours down! It's my turn now and I'm activating Pot of Greed. That allows me to draw two more cards." Natsu drew two cards and they were helpful ones. "Good thing that scroll of yours can only take two counters. I'm summoning out Fire Dragon Sword Horn." Sword Horn came out and had 1200atk points. "I activate Sword Horn's ability. He can take out that scroll of yours." Sword Horn charged right that scroll.

"I don't think so." Zeref said. "I send Black Arts Stopper to the graveyard. By doing that, I can prevent a card from being destroyed." Sword Horn's attack hit a barrier and it was stopped.

"Fine. I'll get you next time." Natsu said and his turn ended.

"Why didn't he switch his monsters in defense mode?" Lucy said.

"I really hope he knows what's he doing." Gray said. "One attack from that dragon of his and we're all in trouble."

'Strange? He doesn't have his monsters in defense mode.' Zeref thought. 'That must mean he has something in his hand that can block my attack just like I did.' Zeref drew his card and knew what to do. "Now I activate the effects of my Black Arts Scroll and it drains away your monsters' power." His scroll released a dark wave and both of Natsu's monsters got caught in it with their attack points dropping to zero. "Don't think I'm going to play into your hands."

"What do you mean? I don't know what you're talking about." Natsu said.

"Try and act innocent, but I know you're planning something." Zeref said. "I say we find out what it is. I'm activating Fateful Doom. This spell allows me to look at one card in your hand and I get to decide if you keep it or discard it."

"Go ahead and try. You won't pick the right card." Natsu said.

"Let's find out. I choose the one on the far right." Zeref said as that card turned black and it showed it was Glutton Dragon. "Glutton Dragon… I see. You were expecting me to attack your Dragon Wingman. By discarding that card, he would have survived and you would have taken no damage. I'm afraid that plan has failed. I choose to send that card to the graveyard." Natsu had no choice, but to discard it.

"Oh man. Natsu's betting too much on luck. He can't do that." Gray said.

"But what else can he do to hold on?" Erza said.

"It's been fun, Natsu." Zeref said. "Acnologia, attack and destroy his monsters!" Acnologia commanded the stars to fall once more.

"Nice try, but Glutton Dragon wasn't who I was thinking." Natsu said. "I activate the special ability of Glutton Flamer!" Natsu played a flame with a face and it was absorbing all the power of the attacks. "Glutton Flamer has the same ability as Glutton Dragon. When a fire attribute monster is the target of an attack, all I can do is send him to the graveyard and your attack can't do anything. Sorry, but you chose wrong, brother."

"Awesome!" Gray said. "So Natsu had a plan all along. That must have been why he didn't switch monsters into defense mode."

"I don't get it. Couldn't that work with his monsters in defense mode as well?" Lucy said.

"I could have, but Glutton Flamer has one other ability." Natsu said. "If I use that ability, your monsters lose attack points for every fire monster I have in attack mode. At least until the end of your next turn. How many attack points does your monster lose? The answer is 800 for each one." A blast of fire hit Acnologia and his attack points dropped to 6400.

"Do you think that's enough to defeat Acnologia?" Zeref said. "Acnologia still has over 6000atk points."

"I'll figure a way around that." Natsu said. "There is one thing I want to ask you before we go any further. Why Zeref? Why are you doing this? Why do you want to destroy this world? All that you've done like creating those monsters, transforming me and having me turn against my friends, but I still don't see a reason for it."

"A reason?" Zeref said. "A reason? My reason is…." Something strange was going as Zeref held his head like he was in pain. "What reason do I have?"

"What's going on?" Gray said.

"I don't hate the world." Zeref said. "Yes I do. There's no reason for it to exist. I created the etherious to take over. No. That's wrong. I spared Natsu's friends for him. I should have just destroyed them." Zeref wasn't really making much sense.

"What's going on? Is he not in control of his own thoughts?" Erza said.

"It must be the darkness!" Lucy said. "It's the same with Levy and Kinana. The darkness soon took possession of them. Maybe, since Zeref has been surrounded by it for all these years, the parts that make Zeref human are fading away and being replaced by whatever the darkness wants from him."

"If the darkness is what's forcing Zeref to do all this, Natsu has to win and destroy that Acnologia, but it won't be that easy." Gray said.

"Zeref!" Natsu called out. Zeref appeared to be in pain, but he shook it off.

"I don't need to explain myself." Zeref said. "This is still a duel and it's still my turn. I summon out my Black Arts Vanguard in attack mode." Zeref summoned out a black fiend with claws and wings and it had 1600atk points. "Since I already attacked, I'll just have him ready for next turn. There is no chance for you to win. I now activate Acnologia's ability. I can choose destroy every card on your field when the battle phase is over."

"All of my cards?!" Natsu said.

"Yes." Zeref said and you take 500 points of damage for every card that gets destroyed. Acnologia unleashed a powerful blast form its mouth and destroyed everything on Natsu's field and his life points dropped to 1400.

"Natsu!" Lucy shouted as she was afraid he was hurt, but Natsu was still standing.

"Is that all you got?" Natsu said.

"Natsu, I respect you for never giving up, but use your head for once." Zeref said. "There's no way you can beat me. You've let your friends down and most of this is your fault. You brought doom upon your friends the moment you came searching for me."

"Shut up! He did not!" Gray said.

"You manipulated everything so it would all happen just the way you thought it would." Erza said. "It's not Natsu's fault."

"No. He's right." Natsu said and none of them expected him to actually agree. "I led you all to that place. I didn't think of any of you. I just wanted to find my brother and didn't' care that much for anything else, but I'm going to make things right. I'll bring back everyone that was lost and my friends gave me their strength. They haven't lost faith in me yet and I'm not going to let any of them down. Their bonds with me is my strength and I'll use that to beat you." Natsu's mark glowed brighter than ever. Down below, the others had their marks glowing so bright as well and something strange happened. Each one of their marks shot a beam and sored into the air. All of the beams converged on Natsu and Quataru showed itself.

"Quataru!" Lucy said.

"Quataru must be giving power to Natsu!" Gray said.

"Is that so?" Zeref said. "You better make it worth their wild. If you fail, you let them and the whole world down." The pressure was on and if Natsu doesn't think of something, it's all the end. Natsu may have made some mistakes that led to all this, but he has a chance to make it right.

'I won't let any of them down.' Natsu said. 'I'll make what I did right. I'm ending this.' "My turn!" Natsu drew his next card and knew what he had to do. "Guys, I'm sorry for all the harm I caused, but I plan on winning this to make it right. Now let's finish what we started, Zeref. I activate Fire Dragon Fire Form! By taking two Fire Dragons in my deck and sending them to the graveyard, I can summon out a certain dragon. So by sending Fire Dragon Winger and Crushing Fang to the graveyard, I can summon Igneel the Fire Dragon!" Igneel came out and flew on the field with 2500atk points. "Lucky for you, his special ability is negated now. Once my turn ends, he also has to get back in my deck."

"You know what, it sounds like all that did was power my Black Arts Scroll." Zeref said as he gained another counter.

"You're forgetting that I'm not done!" Natsu said. "My spell also allows me to draw a card for every Fire Dragon in my graveyard. Now that I have five, I can draw five cards!"

"Five cards?!" Zeref said and Natsu drew them.

"Some of them are just what I need. Now, with the power of my friends and Quataru, I'm activating Neo Dragon Fusion!" Natsu said. "Now I can fuse with dragons in my deck, hand, and field. So, Igneel, I fuse you with the other six dragons!" All of the seven dragons came on the field and fused together with Quataru adding his power in with it.

"It can't be!" Zeref said as they all fused into something amazing.

"I fusion summon Rainbow Dragon Igneel!" A new dragon was formed with the power of all seven dragons now as one.

"That's not enough to stop me!" Zeref said, but others would beg to differ.

"This fusion of friendship is going to conquer your darkness!" Natsu said. Igneel unleashed a powerful roar and wild the wind. The ultimate showdown with a dragon of light and one of darkness will commence and this duel between brothers will reach its end.

To Be Continued…..


	39. Rainbow Light in Darkness

All hope is not lost yet. With the power of Quataru giving him power, Natsu has brought out a new monster that can destroy this darkness. Igneel was a pure white dragon with a rainbow light emitting from his wings. This is the power of the seven dragons combining their power into one. All those who could see was amazed by it.

"Beautiful!" Erza said.

"Amazing!" Lucy said.

"It is impressive, but look at the point difference." Gray said. Igneel had 5000atk points. Acnologia is stronger, but currently has 6400atk points. Natsu had 1400LP while Zeref had 1300 with Zeref having his Black Arts Vanguard at 1600atk points. It was close and it will soon end.

"It is amazing, but I'm afraid Acnologia is stronger, Natsu." Zeref said. "You may have combined all the dragons together, but it isn't enough."

"Don't be so sure. It's still my turn and I'm just getting starting." Natsu said. "I activate Reignited Soul. It brings back a monster in my graveyard and gives him another 300atk points. I'm bringing back Iron Fist." Iron Fist came back on the field and had 1900atk points now. "You want to know something else? Rainbow Dragon Igneel can use the special ability of all the dragons that were used to summon him."

"All their abilities?" Zeref said.

"That's right. I'm using Igneel's own ability to transfer Iron Fist's power to him!" Natsu said. Iron Fist turned into flames and was absorbed by Igneel as his attack points rose to 6900.

"It's stronger than Acnologia!" Lucy said.

"Perhaps, but it won't be enough to take out the last of Zeref's life points." Erza said.

"So? He should just attack that vanguard and be done with it." Gray said.

"No. Zeref would surely anticipate that. Besides, we know Natsu. He would rather destroy Acnologia and save his brother." Erza said and Gray can see that.

"I won't be stopping there!" Natsu said. "I can feel all my friends fighting alongside me and I know that together we will win." Natsu can feel all his fellow dragons and they could feel him. All of them are fighting as one. "Let's do this! Laxus, I know you're with me! Give me Heaveledge's power!" It was as if Laxus was standing with Natsu and they were acting as one.

"By sending one card to the graveyard, your monsters are destroyed!" Both of them said. Igneel used Heaveledge's power and had lightning strike at Zeref's monsters with Vanguard destroyed.

"Have you forgotten that Acnologia can't be destroyed by effects?" Zeref said. "What's more is that when Vanguard is destroyed, all my monsters switch to defense mode." Acnologia dropped to defense mode and held 6000def points.

"That isn't going to stop me. I activate Crushing Fang's ability. If I place him at the bottom of my deck from my graveyard, I can destroy your scroll." Natsu said and Zeref's Black Arts Scroll was destroyed. "Now I use the power of Grandeene! Let's do this, Wendy." Now Wendy was standing with him.

"With Grandeene's power, the difference in our life points are added to Igneel's!" Both of them said as Igneel's attack points went to 7000.

"Igneel has even more power! I bet I know who he is using next." Lucy said.

"Gajeel, it's our turn." Natsu said with Gajeel standing.

"With Metalicana's power, when he attacks a monster in defense mode, the difference is dealt to you as damage." Both said.

"Let's go, Igneel! Strike at Acnologia!" Natsu said. Igneel unleashed a might rainbow fire at Acnologia and they all thought that was the end.

"I don't think so." Zeref said. The attack connected, but Acnologia wasn't destroyed and Zeref's life points dropped to only 300.

"What?! He shouldn't have any left." Natsu said.

"Did I forget that Vanguard also cuts any damage I would take in half?" Zeref said. Natsu was getting annoyed now.

'I can only use their special abilities once. I better save the rest.' Natsu thought. "I place one card facedown to end my turn." With his turn over, Igneel's attack points returned to 5000.

"My turn." Zeref said as he drew his next card. "I'll switch Acnologia into attack mode." Acnologia was back in attack mode with 6400atk points. "I'll also activate Zero Drain. This spell card cuts the attack points of one monster in half if I have a monster that's stronger." Igneel lost power and was down to 2500. "This should be enough. Acnologia, destroy Igneel and end this with **Cosmic Flare Shower**!" Acnologia commanded the stars to fall at Acnologia.

"Not so fast!" Natsu said. "Igneel has another ability. I can take a dragon from my graveyard and add it to my hand. I choose Glutton Dragon." His dragon came back to his hand. "I can now send him back so Igneel survives and I can't take any damage." A barrier came around and blocked the attack.

"Nice try, but Acnologia will still destroy him thanks to his ability." Zeref said.

"Wrong. Igneel can't be destroyed just like Acnologia." Natsu said and Zeref was starting to get annoyed.

"Fine. I place one card facedown as well to end my turn." Zeref said. "Since we've reached the end of this turn, Acnologia gains all his power back." Acnologia's attack points rose again to 8000.

"This duel could really go either way." Erza said.

"If Natsu doesn't do something to stop this, we're done for." Gray said.

"I'm not done yet. Don't worry. I'm far from beaten." Natsu said and took his turn for this might be his last chance. "Now to use Cuberin's ability. Let's do this, Erik." Erik was now with Natsu lending his power.

"Now Acnologia loses 500atk points!" Both said. Igneel shot some poison and hit Acnologia with its attack points dropping to 7500.

"Amazing! It's like all seven of them are fighting together!" Lucy said.

"Let's hope it's enough." Erza said.

"That's nowhere near enough." Zeref said.

"Here we go, Zeref! I now use Weisslogia's ability!" Natsu said. "Sting, let's do this together." Sting took his turn and stood with Natsu.

"Igneel gains 100atk points for every level that's on the field!" Both said. "Both monsters are level twelve. That gives him 2400atk points." Igneel's attack points rose to 4900.

"It's still not strong enough." Zeref said.

"Wrong again. I still have one more dragon. Let's go, Rogue." Natsu said and Rogue stood with Natsu.

"Igneel gains back all the attack points he lost and Acnologia loses that many attack points." Both said. Igneel unleashed shadows to attack and blasted Acnologia. Acnologia's now has 5000atk points and Igneel now has 6400.

"He's stronger than Acnologia!" Lucy said.

"Go, Igneel! Attack Acnologia with all your might!" Natsu said and Igneel attacked Acnologia again.

"Pathetic. You underestimate Acnologia and myself." Zeref said. "I activate Zero Disengagement! When a monster that can't be destroyed is attacked, I take no damage." The attack was blocked and both were perfectly fine. "I also gain life points equal to Igneel's attack points." Zeref's life points went all the way 6700.

"More life points?!" Gray said.

"He's unbeatable!" Erza said.

"There is no hope for you to overcome my power." Zeref said.

"Oh yes there is." Natsu said. "I activate the trap: Seven Dragons!" Astral projections of all seven dragons gathered around Igneel. "By removing seven dragons in my graveyard from play, this card transfers all their attack points to Igneel and he can attack again!" Igneel gained power and it went up to….

"26400!" Zeref said and there was no way he can block that.

"Go, Igneel! Strike Acnologia with **Hyper Rainbow Dragon Roar**!" Natsu said. Igneel unleashed a bright and mighty rainbow flame and Acnologia was caught in it. The force of the attack came at Zeref and blasted him away with his life points dropped all the way to nothing.

"It's over…" Lucy said as they were all astounded as to what Natsu did. When they snapped back to reality, they all cheered for him.

"Natsu really won!" Gray said.

"He truly is something incredible!" Erza. Natsu looked towards Zeref and saw Acnologia's card fade away and the darkness around his body was destroyed.

"Zeref!" Natsu called as he ran towards his brother.

"Natsu…" Zeref weakly said. Zeref started to snap back to his humanity. Zeref got back up with Natsu standing over him. "What just happened?"

"Zeref? Is that you? The real you?" Natsu said. Zeref thought back and he remembered all that he had done.

"Oh no." Zeref said. "What have I done? All the horrible things that I have done?" Zeref looked like he was ready to break apart. That indicated that Zeref was himself again. Natsu was so glad to have his brother back as he wrapped his arms around him.

"It's okay, Zeref. It's all over now." Natsu said as his friends gathered around. "It wasn't you. It was the darkness. It gave you dangerous powers that affected your mind. You were losing your sanity because of it. It made you into something you're not."

"Perhaps, but I still did horrible things." Zeref said as he stood up and walked around. "Look at this. This is all because of me. I brought this darkness here. I sought to destroy this world and have it be ruled by monsters I created."

"Zeref, it's over now. You can stop all of this." Erza said.

"Your brother just freed you from the darkness." Gray said. "You might have done some horrible things, but it's over now."

"All the pain and suffering I've caused. It's all too much to bear." Zeref said. The guilt he was feeling from everything he did because of that dark power was coming at him all at once. For someone like Zeref who use to be so kind, it was all too much for him to handle.

"Don't talk like that. You're yourself again." Natsu said. "I know you might have done some horrible things, but I knew that deep down you were still yourself. You can make all your wrongs right."

"You're right. I know just what I must do." Zeref said as his body began to glow.

"Zeref, what are you doing?" Natsu said as he wasn't liking this at all.

"I will send all the darkness I brought away." Zeref said. "I will take all the darkness and take it away." Zeref's body slowly began to fall apart and he began to float away. Natsu didn't want to see that.

"Zeref, no!" Natsu shouted as he raced towards him. "Zeref, don't leave me!"

"I'm sorry, Natsu." Zeref said. "I must do this. My existence for the trade of renewed hope and joy for all those that I have wronged. To revive all those innocent who were taken away."

"Zeref, don't!" Natsu said as he didn't want to lose his brother again.

"I know you're in good hands with Fairy Tail." Zeref said as he smiled at his brother. "I'm proud that you are my brother. Farewell." Zeref faded away to nothing and Natsu lost his brother again. When he did, a powerful wave shot through the air and all the dark clouds cleared away.

…..

Magnolia

The dark clouds above the sky dispersed and were gone. The pillar that connected the two worlds vanished as well and the other world had light in their darkness once more. Sunlight shined down on Magnolia for it was all over.

"What just happened?" Gajeel said.

"Look!" Juvia said. All of them looked around and saw people who were lost were being revived. Jellal and the other duelists that were gone have been brought back.

"Natsu did it! He won!" Wendy said.

"I knew he would!" Sting said. All of them were happy Natsu won the duel and saved everyone. They all saw stardust came around and formed Natsu and the others.

"Guys!" Laxus called as they all gathered around and they were all happy to see each other.

"Well done." Makarov said.

"You guys rock." Erik said.

"Indeed. Everything appears to be back to normal and all those who were lost have returned." Rogue said. They all were happy, but they saw Natsu wasn't.

"Natsu? What's wrong?" Wendy asked.

"Yo! Be happy. You won." Gajeel said.

"He's gone…" Natsu said as he dropped to his knees and cried with Lucy and the others feeling sorry for him. "He's gone!" Victory may have been brought, but it cost Natsu a brother.

…..

Three Months Later

Three months have passed since that battle and everything has returned to normal. As normal as things get with them. However, things weren't ever the same for Natsu. After years of wondering what became of his older brother, he finds him, fight him, and now he's lost him again. Natsu was in his apartment and still upset over what became of him.

"Natsu." Natsu heard a knock on the door and saw Lucy let herself in.

"Hey, Lucy." Natsu said.

"You still upset about your brother? I don't blame you." Lucy said. "However, you should be happy. It was months ago and we wouldn't be where we are now if it weren't for you. I know it's hard, but you saved all of us."

"I know. For a moment, my brother came back. Too bad it was so short." Natsu said. Lucy felt so bad for Natsu and needed to help him. Lucy walked over and held Natsu's face as she kissed him to try and get him to perk up.

"I know it's hard." Lucy said. "However, you're not alone. Come down to the guild with me. There's something I want you to see." Natsu didn't know what she was talking about, but he went for it.

…

The Guild

Lucy held Natsu's hand as they went all the way to the guild. Once there, Natsu was met with something unreal. It was a party at the guild all for him. Everyone from the guild, as well the friends Natsu has made through his duels were there.

"What is all this?" Natsu said.

"It's all for you, my boy." Makarov said.

"Natsu, you saved all of us." Jellal said with Erza holding his arm. "You saved the world."

"We all wanted to thank you for what you've done and wanted to cheer you up." Sting said.

"We all heard about your brother. It is tragic." Jura said.

"That doesn't mean you have to go through it alone." Macbeth said.

"We're all here for you." Erza said.

"Someone like you shouldn't be upset all the time. It doesn't suit you." Gray said.

"We've all had many battles and we won all of them." Gajeel said.

"After everything you've done for us, we're all here for you." Wendy said. Everyone came here to cheer Natsu up and Natsu was amazed with all of this. Makarov came over and handed Natsu something.

"Here. I found it and I'm sure he would want you to have it." Makarov said. Natsu took it and saw it was a frame photo of him and his brother from when they were younger. They both looked so happy together. Natsu thought about everything Zeref taught him, all the times they had together. It brought a smile to his face.

"Yeah. Zeref might be gone, but he wouldn't want me feeling sorry for myself." Natsu said.

"Good because I know the best way to get you back on your feet." Laxus said as he held up his duel disk. "What do you say? You're not a coward, are you?"

"You're on." Natsu said as he was starting to feel like himself again. All of them went to the duel arena where Natsu and Laxus were getting ready to face each other.

"Are you ready? I'm not holding back." Laxus said.

"I'm not either." Natsu said. No matter how dark things become, there is always light. When things look their worse, we push through and have people there to help us get through it. It's where we keep pushing for our futures. For duelists, there's one way to go at it.

"Let's duel!"


End file.
